At COEL, progression has always been closely linked to contribution. It is rarely about tenure alone, but about the impact individuals make on projects, on clients, and on the wider team. That is why the recent promotion of five members of the operational leadership team to Associate Director feels both significant and entirely natural.
Katie Oldknow, Ashley Hovells, Georgina Mason and Chris Lawrence have each played a central role in the delivery, development and growth of the business. Their progression reflects how COEL continues to evolve as a design and build partner, while keeping its culture firmly rooted in experience, collaboration and trust.
Recognising the people who make delivery happen
COEL’s proposition has always depended on bringing together planning, design, build, furniture consultancy and maintenance into one joined-up service. That only works when the people leading those disciplines operate with a shared understanding of what good looks like for the client. These promotions reflect exactly that.
Katie Oldknow leads the design team, combining hands-on project involvement with the management of a growing department. Since joining COEL, she has moved quickly into a leadership role, overseeing the development of designs that balance creativity with usability and commercial reality.
Ashley Hovells, as Head of Business Development, sits at the front end of client relationships, connecting opportunity with delivery capability and ensuring consistency from first conversation through to project handover.
Georgina Mason leads the finance function, supporting the business with the structure and clarity required to scale, while maintaining control and accountability across projects.
Chris Lawrence, Head of Preconstruction (Contracts), brings more than 30 years of experience across fit-out, cost management and design development. His bid writing and commercial experience further strengthens COEL’s capability to manage complex project tender with confidence and precision.
Each role is distinct but together they represent the engine room of the business.
A reflection of how COEL delivers
COEL has built its reputation on delivering workplaces that are both inspiring and practical, supporting clients across office, laboratory, technical and educational environments. What sits behind that reputation is not just design expertise or construction capability, but the ability to coordinate multiple disciplines without friction. That requires strong leadership across operational teams.
These promotions signal a deliberate decision to strengthen that layer of leadership. Not by bringing it in externally, but by recognising the people already embedded in the business, its clients and its projects.
Enabling growth without compromising identity
As COEL has expanded across Cambridge, Oxford, London and the wider East of England, its model has remained consistent: close collaboration, practical thinking and a clear focus on improving working environments.
Growth can place pressure on that. It can stretch teams, dilute decision-making and create distance between leadership and delivery. By elevating leaders who are already responsible for core parts of the client journey, COEL strengthens its ability to grow while maintaining continuity and the standards clients expect. The people making early-stage decisions remain closely connected to the realities of delivery.
For the wider market, it reflects a business that values progression, recognises contribution and understands the importance of operational leadership in a sector where detail, coordination and accountability matter.
Richard Brent, MD at COEL adds:
“I am thrilled to be able to give our Operational Leadership Team this well-earned recognition. As Associate Directors, Katie, Ashley, Georgina and Chris will continue to shape how COEL delivers projects, supports clients and develops its teams. Their influence will extend beyond their individual functions into the broader direction of the business.
This is not a step change in what they do day-to-day, but an acknowledgement of the role they were already playing. More importantly, it signals how COEL intends to grow: by backing the people close to the detail and accountable for delivery, it keeps decision-making grounded in real project experience.”
To find out more about the Team behind the inspiring spaces, click here.
