We’re delighted to welcome John to Ridge, where he joins us as our go-to expert on healthcare projects – bringing a wealth of experience, practical know-how, and a deep understanding of what it takes to deliver truly specialist healthcare environments.

John studied Aeronautical Engineering at university – and although he swapped aerospace for healthcare engineering early in his career, the life-critical attributes of both areas aren’t worlds apart. 

Since 2008, John has been at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), one of the UK’s most renowned healthcare providers, overseeing capital projects across seven hospitals that deliver acute and specialist care. He started there as a junior project manager, learning the nuts and bolts of healthcare project delivery on the ground, and over the years worked his way up to be a senior NHS manager, leading the renowned UCLH Capital Projects department. 

Over his time at UCLH, John has been involved in many hundreds of healthcare projects – from replacing life-expired infrastructure to leading on cutting-edge new-builds and medical equipment installations. His experience spans the full spectrum of complexity and needs across a wide range of healthcare facility types, including some of the most technically demanding clinical environments in the country. 

A few career highlights? The opening of the Royal National ENT and Dental Hospital – where he had the honour of speaking with the late Her Majesty the Queen – was a proud and memorable moment. But it was the UCH Grafton Way Building that truly exemplifies John’s expertise. This landmark project houses Europe’s largest centre for blood disorders, and is a highly specialist facility supporting predominantly cancer patients. The engineering challenges here were immense, ranging from designing infrastructure to protect immuno-compromised inpatients to building a deep-underground proton beam therapy centre that targets cancer tumours with pinpoint accuracy while minimising harm to surrounding healthy tissue and vital organs. This facility is especially important for children or those where the cancer is close to a critical part of the body. The facility includes a particle accelerator that propels protons towards the speed of light – “CERN on a smaller scale,” as John puts it. 

Reflecting on the opening of the centre, John said: “Seeing the first paediatric patients whose lives would be transformed as a result of the new centre was a humbling moment I’ll never forget.” It’s no wonder the project fell under the watchful eye of not only the NHS, but also the UK Government Infrastructure and Projects Authority – a Cabinet Office body overseeing projects of national significance. 

So, what brought him to Ridge? “Honestly, Ridge is different,” John said. “I’ve worked with Ridge for years – and they’ve always demonstrated the values that I look for from a client perspective. During the pandemic, when the NHS was overstretched and no one knew what was coming next, Ridge stepped up and effectively became an extension of our NHS team, often helping with things outside of their remit. That culture really stuck with me.” 

At Ridge, John will be helping to deepen and grow our healthcare offer – supporting our teams across disciplines and helping us deliver the same level of excellence and understanding across every healthcare brief. With his track record, insight, and ethos, we’re excited to have him on board as the specialist voice on healthcare – quietly brilliant, and deeply respected. 

Outside the office, John’s no stranger to discipline and commitment – he’s a black belt in taekwondo (a pursuit he took up eight years ago), and he now practises alongside his two children. He lives with his family in Tunbridge Wells. 

We’re thrilled to have John with us – welcome to Ridge!