Our people

Paul brings nearly 40 years of experience in construction and deconstruction to his role as Chairman of the DE Group. Alongside his appetite for structurally or logistically challenging projects, Paul is also a published authority in the remediation of dangerous structures.
His expertise in this field and his role as Chairman of NESST (National Emergency Services Support Taskforce) have seen him play instrumental roles in countless emergency responses, including many high profile incidents. These include the 2011 London riots, Grenfell Tower and Storm Eunice’s damage to the 02 Millennium Dome to name a few.

Graduating from the University of Greenwich in 1993 with a BSc Honours degree in Building Surveying, Ashley’s career has seen him become an authority in asbestos abatement and removal. He established Deconstruct with Paul Ford in 2009, followed by the formation of further “DE” companies over subsequent years, becoming Group Managing Director in 2014 — a role which sees him work closely with the Board of Directors to ensure the continued robust growth and development of the DE Group.

As the Group’s SHEQ Director, Marc is responsible for ensuring that the Group maintains the highest levels of governance and standards with respect to occupational health and safety and quality, also ensuring that our environmental and sustainability strategies are continually developed, implemented, and challenged. Alongside his role within the DE Group, Marc volunteers for United Kingdom International Search and Rescue (UKISAR), which has seen him deploy on operational responses in Turkey following the earthquakes in 2023 and supporting the team on other international training deployments. This volunteer role extends to the UK where he works with USAR teams from Fire & Rescue Services across the country.

A Chartered Safety & Health Practitioner, Mark Allen CMIOSH IMaPS AIFSM joined Derisk in 2019 as an Associate Consultant (CDM/H&S) with the brief of managing and expanding our established team of CDM Consultants. Progression to Associate Director soon followed and Mark is responsible for delivering our major CDM/H&S frameworks, including heading up our services as Primary Principal Designer, Health & Safety Advisor, and Competent Person to the £160m+ deep estate-wide retrofitting works of the Lancaster West Estate, Primary PD to the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea’s Major Capital Works Team, Lambeth Council, LHC, and other frameworks.

Operating mainly within the construction industry, his background also includes dispensing competent H&S advice to the manufacturing, engineering, and aviation sectors. Commercially astute, Mark is responsible for business development, bid writing, and line management of our CDM Team.

A Fellow of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management, Shane Bailey FIIRSM CertIOSH IMaPS MSyl M.ISRM MIFSM AMIFPO joined Derisk in 2018 as the Principal Rail Consultant, bringing with him nearly 30 years’ experience in the UK rail industry, 15 of which were in compliance and assurance roles. A year later, having expanded rail business on Competent Person and DfT security workstreams, he was promoted to Associate Director.
Building on an engineering background, Shane has broadened his skills and qualifications across a wide spectrum of H&S matters whilst helping grow Derisk with a developing portfolio of high-profile clients.

David is a Senior CDM/Health & Safety consultant with an engineering background incorporating broad experience in the fire detection and alarm industry, public address and voice alarm, and security systems. In his capacity as Principal Designer for Derisk he assists clients in fulfilling their statutory duties as required by CDM regulations. He brings a wealth of H&S expertise to his role, including Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, ISO45001 and Quality and Environmental Management Systems in accordance with ISO9001 and ISO14001.