Leadership in the North strengthened with senior promotions
14.04.26 4 min read
Following a successful year for our teams, we are pleased to announce a series of promotions across the North of England.
As we strengthen our commitment to building brighter futures in Yorkshire and the North East, Simon Dew, who has been with the business for more than 15 years, has been appointed as Managing Director for the region.
Shaping places across the North
Over the years, he has played a central role in shaping places and bringing forward long‑term regeneration in towns and cities across the North. Having first joined us as a Development Director before becoming Director of Development Management, he has consistently shown the passion for people and place that sits at the heart of our work.
He will lead the team as it progresses our growing pipeline across Yorkshire and the North East, including the transformation of Baltic Quarter in Gateshead, the delivery of the Durham Innovation Zone, and major regeneration at Bradford City Village, Hull East Bank, and the Wakefield Strategic Regeneration Partnership.
Simon commented:
Growth in the North West
Elsewhere, after two years in post, Director of Project Management for the North West region, Stuart Rogers, has been promoted into the newly created national senior leadership role of Operations Director.
Stuart Rogers has been promoted to Operations Director
In his position he will be responsible for driving high-quality standards for delivery across the whole business – with a focus on overseeing and optimising the day-to-day operational activities of the company.
This includes a strengthening of our partnership approach, with robust national strategic relationships with supply chain, contractors and consultants integral as we look to convert our strong pipeline to delivery.
Stepping up into Stuart’s position will be Technical Director at Muse – North West, Alan McBride. Alan currently manages governance and compliance for our projects in the region, with a particular focus on leading efforts at Talbot Gateway, Blackpool, in partnership with Blackpool Council.
Meanwhile, Max Bentham has been promoted to the position of Director of Development Management for the North West.
Since joining in April 2021, he has played a key role in driving forward several placemaking visions. This includes the £2.5bn Crescent Salford masterplan which is being delivered by ECF, our placemaking partnership with L&G and Homes England, alongside Salford City Council and the University of Salford.
After several successful years with the business, Sarah Chicken has also been promoted to Senior Development Manager.
With a raft of experience in the industrial and logistics sector, Sarah has been instrumental in the promotion of WestonM6 over the last two years, delivering a material land sale last year and progressing towards delivery of Phase 2.
The promotions come off the back of the team’s contribution to the business’s success over the last 12 months. 2025 saw a strategic expansion of the business’s development pipeline to £6.3 billion (including preferred bidder positions). In the last year this has increased by 29%, from £4.9billion.
