BESA Leadership Hub
Meet your leaders driving our industry forward
At BESA, our strength lies in the expertise, dedication, and leadership of our members. Across the UK, our Chairs and Vice Chairs play a vital role in shaping the future of building engineering services - representing your interests, championing local priorities, and ensuring your voice is heard at the national level.
Explore the Chairs and Vice Chairs Profiles below:
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Pete Curtis - Midlands Chair
Briggs & Forrester Ltd
Pete Curtis is a highly experienced building services engineer with over 35 years of service at Briggs & Forrester Group – one of the UK’s largest independent contractors, turning over more than £270m annually.
He has worked his way up through the ranks since 1988 to his current role as group services manager, reporting directly to the CEO and the board of directors. He has an impressive background in people development, contract management, and organisational performance.
A graduate of the University of Northampton, and a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD Pete has long been a champion for developing future generations of craft and technical engineers and is determined to see progress on addressing the industry’s skills shortages.
“We have an ageing workforce with more people approaching retirement than coming into the industry. BESA members have identified this as the biggest threat to their prospects for growth,” he says.
“Many training centres have stopped delivering building services courses because of historic low demand and many suffer from a shortage of trainers and assessors. This is a fundamental problem that undermines any progress we make in promoting the sector to young people.”
Pete intends to build on the findings of a detailed study carried out by BESA into the sector’s skills requirements and will seek to grow the number of qualified trainers and assessors supporting apprenticeships through the Association’s ‘Skills Legacy’ programme.
“This is a fantastic way for experienced engineers to give something back in the later stages of their careers, and I can’t think of anything more fitting for me to champion in my presidential year.”
Nathan Wood - London and South East Chair
Farmwood M&E Services Ltd
Nathan Wood serves as the Managing Director of Farmwood Ltd, bringing over two decades of expertise in ventilation, indoor air quality (IAQ), building services, compliance, and healthy building design.
Renowned for his technical proficiency and regulatory acumen, he is deeply committed to enhancing occupant health through superior air quality solutions.
As Chair of the London & South East Region of the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and leader of the ARIC board at BESCA, Nathan provides independent oversight on regulatory compliance and professional competence within the built environment. He also holds the position of Deputy Chair of the Environmental Industries Association (EIA) IAQ Group, where he plays a pivotal role in shaping industry-wide air quality policy and standards.
Nathan is a core committee member of GO AQS, a cross-sector initiative dedicated to advancing science-driven air quality guidance. He serves as an expert advisor to prominent organizations, including Indoor Air Aware and the Safe Air School Foundation, and actively contributes to the development of national and European IAQ standards, National Occupational Standards, and healthy homes frameworks.
A respected authority in ventilation system design, commissioning, and compliance, Nathan is a leading voice in driving the adaptation of buildings to prioritize safety, health, and sustainability. His contributions continue to shape the future of the built environment, ensuring healthier and more sustainable indoor spaces.
Ian Gregory - Eastern Counties Chair
IAQ Consultancy Services
Ian Gregory is the Eastern Counties Regional Chair and Chair of BESA’s Ventilation Hygiene Group, with over 25 years’ experience in Ventilation hygiene, indoor air quality, and fire damper compliance.
As Managing Director of IAQ Services Ltd, he leads a specialist team delivering independent assessments and consultancy across all sectors of the built environment.
Ian is a strong advocate for raising standards, improving competency, and driving real-world change in the sector.
He brings a practical, no-nonsense perspective to industry challenges, shaped by decades of on-site experience.
Ian is passionate about collaboration and pushing the industry forward — not just through policy, but through action.
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Ross Docherty - Scotland Chair
Protech Heating Ltd
Ross Docherty is the Commercial Director of “DCC Energy” subsidiary “The Protech Group”. With over 30 years’ experience within the HVAC industry, Ross has fulfilled several senior technical roles, with specialism in complex heat process systems.
He is renowned as a field combustion specialist with a varied career working across several industry sectors. During his career he has commissioned several industrial combustion plants and provided specialist training to engineers globally.
In 2008 he co-founded the “Protech Group” where he initially focused on building their maintenance and specialist combustion division, and then progressed into commercial leadership of the entire group.
In recent years he has sat on several working groups in the advancement of future fuels and emerging technologies to support industry’s drive towards low carbon solutions and sustainable energy sources.
Outside of work Ross’s time is committed to his young family & likes to keep fit with swimming and golf.