Leadership

John Walsh joined Altrad in August 2017 and was appointed CEO of Altrad’s UK, Ireland & Nordics business in June 2023.

Prior to assuming the CEO role, John served as Executive Vice President – Finance and was responsible for Altrad’s finance and business support services teams including; corporate and operational finance, accounts payable and receivable, procurement, fleet, and the enterprise resource platform (ERP).

John was the architect of Altrad‘s ERP system development, which provides market leading financial management and cost reporting information. He also led the evolution of Altrad‘s corporate structure to streamline the cost base whilst managing risk and developing the controls and processes to provide strong governance in a cost-efficient manner.

Prior to joining Altrad, John held similar positions at KPMG between 1988-1993 and Balfour Beatty between 1993-2017, five years of which, were based overseas in the USA.

Jonny Gilmore joined Altrad in January 2019

Jonny is responsible for Altrad’s finance and business support services teams across the UK, Ireland & Nordics including; corporate and operational finance, accounts payable and receivable, procurement, facilities and the digital function.

Before his appointment to Executive Vice President – Finance, Jonny was Transformation Director working to successfully integrate the Doosan Babcock and Muehlhan acquisitions into the UK, Ireland and Nordics business. Prior to this he was Head of Finance and led the development and delivery of the finance strategy during a period of significant systems, ERP, process and people change.

Jonny is a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants In England and Wales qualifying at KPMG whilst working in External Audit and Corporate Restructuring. Prior to joining Altrad, Jonny held a number of Global Finance leadership roles at PZ Cussons Plc, a British manufacturer of personal healthcare products and consumer goods which operates worldwide. He was subsequently, Finance Director of Myprotein, Diet & Beauty at The Hut Group, a British e-commerce retail company which sells own-brand and third-party products online worldwide.

Peter Hughes joined Altrad in January 2020.

Peter is responsible for Altrad’s future strategy, its business development activities and all internal and external communications. In addition to his role at Altrad, Peter also sits on the Management Board of the Engineering Construction Industry Association (ECIA).

A seasoned professional with over 30 years’ experience across the oil & gas, petrochemical, nuclear and conventional and renewable power generation markets, with extensive experience of driving a strategic growth agenda at Board level.

Prior to joining Altrad, Peter was part of the leadership team of Black & Veatch, an international engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company, for whom he worked for five and a half years, whilst also holding a Board position for MBV (a Black & Veatch Joint Venture company) and an Advisory Board position for POWERGEN-Europe.

During his career Peter has held several other high-profile business development roles including the Group Business Development Director role for Cape PLC (now a subsidiary company of Altrad).

Padraig Somers joined Altrad in April 2002 and was appointed as EVP – Operations in June 2023.

Padraig served previously as the CEO of Altrad’s UK, Ireland & Nordics business for a period of four years prior to assuming his current role.

Padraig has held numerous operational and leadership roles since joining Hertel UK & Ireland (now a subsidiary company of Altrad) most notably, he was responsible for overseeing the integration of acquisitions to form the new Altrad Services businesses in the UK and in Asia Pacific for the Altrad Group.

With almost three decades of experience in managing businesses operating in the oil and gas, nuclear, power generation, steel and heavy process industries, Padraig is well positioned to lead the operational development agenda at Altrad.

Padraig also sits on the engineering construction industry training board (ECITB) Management Board a public body organisation that works with employers and training providers to give the engineering construction industry workforce the skills it needs to meet the challenges of the future.

Tony Jester joined Altrad in May 2017.

Tony is responsible for supporting the UK operational business units in delivering its commitments to clients and ensuring operational excellence in the services provided.

Tony works with all Altrad’s operations and functional support teams to deliver their strategic objectives, positioning the business to deliver extraordinary outcomes for our clients. Tony is also responsible for leading the digital transformation activities within the business.

In addition to his role at Altrad, Tony is a member of the institute of engineering and technology (IET) and works as a coach for the Cranfield Trust – a charitable foundation attached to Cranfield University working to support local charities who need professional leadership, mentoring and support.

Prior to joining Altrad, Tony started his career with ICI as an electrical apprentice moving through several roles before joining the Kvaerner Group as Vice President of Operations for the UK business.

Alex Spence joined Altrad in September 2007.

The true value of Altrad resides within our people and Alex is responsible for delivering Altrad’s people strategy. Alex oversees a range of human resources (HR) functions including; the central HR department, regional HR business partners, payroll, recruitment and learning & development.

Alex has over 25 years’ experience across the oil & gas, petrochemical, nuclear and conventional and renewable power generation markets.

Prior to joining Altrad, Alex held a variety of HR leadership roles at Amec, Aker Kvaerner and Cape PLC (now a subsidiary company of Altrad). Alex has also spent time overseas – he was based in Singapore for two years as the HR Director for Asia Pacific and Australia.

Alex is also a member of the Law Society and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD).

Graeme Wilson joined Altrad in 2011.

Graeme is responsible for Altrad’s commercial function across the UK, Ireland & Nordics, ensuring robust controls are in place to manage risks and that the appropriate financial returns are realised.

Graeme’s early career commenced in the utility sector whilst working for a renowned commercial consultancy. He joined Hertel (now a subsidiary company of Altrad) in 2011 providing commercial management for the oil & gas and nuclear sectors.

Prior to being appointed as Executive Vice President – Commercial, Graeme was Head of Commercial for Altrad’s UK nuclear decommissioning, nuclear new build and nuclear generation businesses. He also provided commercial oversight for Altrad Motherwell Bridge and Altrad York Linings, both subsidiary companies of Altrad.

During his career, Graeme has held several high profile board-level roles for Integrated Decommissioning Solutions (a joint venture company of Altrad and Atkins) and i3 (a joint venture company of Altrad, Shepley Engineers and Jacobs).

Graeme read Quantity Surveying at Northumbria University and Construction Law at Leeds Beckett University – he is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.