PEOPLE
As our proposition states, at Claritas we want to do things differently with the aim of ‘creating something that works better – for everyone’.
Achieving this goal has been the prime focus of our CEO Jon Wardle from the very beginning. To achieve it Jon built a team around him who shared his ethos and had the expertise to deliver on the promises we make to our customers.
Our Senior Leadership Team now comprises eight board-level professionals, with experience at leading UK construction PLCs including Wates, Balfour Beatty, Mace, Skanska and Kier. All retain a personal, ‘hands on’ approach to the development of the business and the delivery of our values.
This leadership team understand that we are only as good as the people we employ. Expansion over recent years now sees us with a team of 120+ great people, who share Jon’s founding ethos and drive to deliver great work. Together, we are all excited about what we will now achieve as Claritas.
Jon Wardle
BSc (Hons) QS
CEO
Jon, our CEO, founded Claritas to provide pre-construction and construction management services to residential developers. Today, he is leading the Group’s evolution to provide traditional contracting, design and build, and joint venture arrangements based on the core principle of ‘two-way transparency’.
Dave Smith
FRICS Construction and Quantity Surveying
Board Advisor
Dave has joined Claritas as Non-Executive Chairman, following a major board position at Balfour Beatty as Regional Managing Director for the Southern Business, a short time at McLaren Construction and 32 years at Wates where he was Group COO.
Bringing with him a wealth of experience from these leading construction plc’s, Dave will guide and mentor the Senior Leadership Team and all at Claritas to achieve our Vision 2025 plan of sustainable growth year on year.
Matt Cova
BSc (Hons) FCIOB MRICS
Group Managing Director
Matt joined Claritas in December 2020 as Group Managing Director following two years as Managing Director of major projects at Keir and a 28 year career with Skanska.
Matt brings with him a wealth of experience from previous leading roles and a has huge presence and pedigree in the commercial sector. His leadership skills and experience will be a major asset to the company’s growth and development plans and a key factor in achieving our 2025 vision.
Anne Newman
Post-Graduate Diploma in Management Studies
Anne is responsible for developing our Vision 2025 People Strategy to ensure that each of our employees is achieving their potential. Anne brings with her a wealth of experience in people development having held ‘People’ board positions at both United Living and Wates Group.
Simon Wilkinson
MCIOB
Director
Simon has been part of the Claritas team since 2019 after 13 years as a Director at Wates. Simon’s unique perspective on the industry and his passion for working collaboratively has enabled him to develop a network of customers built on trusted relationships. He has a real desire to play a proactive part in seeing the industry embrace new ways of working, not just in respect of technology and innovation, but most importantly through a cultural shift towards true collaboration.
Gideon Levene
Regional Operations Director (North West)
Gideon joined Claritas in December 2020 and heads up the North West Region operations. Gideon has been working in the Manchester and North West market since 2003 from leading the Projects Division at Styles & Wood and prior to that, Lendlease and Mace in Manchester. He was responsible for and led the development and delivery of a range of projects in Manchester including: The Ducie Street Warehouse; The Lightwell Apartments, St. Ann’s Square; Citygate building on Mosley Street; Islington Wharf, Ancoats; The Manchester Academies programme; and the Royal Northern College of Music.
Julien Nimis
BA Hons Arch
Head of Design
Architecturally trained and with over 20 years’ experience both in contracting and customer roles, Julien adopts a very hands-on and proactive approach to design management and has experience in a range of schemes across the residential, education and commercial sectors up to £100 million in value.
Leading the Claritas design team, Julien drives the ethos of collaboration through early engagement to ensure full interpretation of design aspirations and value objectives through all RIBA stages. His experience has greatly influenced the design function and has introduced Customer focussed processes and procedures that deliver quality and cost certainty and add value to our customers.
Aftab Rafiq
BA Hons FCCA
Finance & Development Director
Aftab joined Claritas Group as Finance and Development Director having spent seven years with Kier Group. Whilst at Kier, Aftab was involved in a number of successful social infrastructure projects; responsible for placing over £50m in equity and delivering assets valued over £750m. Prior to this Aftab worked for the Bilfinger Berger Group in its Investment and Infrastructure business.
Aftab is a qualified Chartered Certified Accountant and has experience of project finance, investment and property development. He is also a co-opted member of the Development Committee for a G15 Registered Provider.
Paul Newell
ICIOB
BSc Hons Construction Management
B.Tech OND Construction management
Operations Director
Paul joined Claritas as Operations Director in 2021 and has overall responsibility for the operations and delivery functions. With over 30 years’ experience in the industry, Paul has delivered many high profile projects across a range of sectors and with challenging logistics. His experience spans projects from £5 – £70 million.
A team player Paul supports the delivery function through ensuring all projects are diligently resourced and supported to deliver the best end product possible. Working closely with the preconstruction team, Paul ensures we meet our ‘bid to build’ ethos ensuring he and his team have a full understanding of every project from the outset through to PC and beyond.
Justin Hayward
Commercial Director
Justin joined Claritas as Commercial Director in 2021. With over 20 years’ experience he has vast experience within contractual and financial management of multiple projects with values ranging from £2-£45 million +.
With knowledge and experience spanning a variety of different project types, including Civil, Decent Homes, refurbishment and new build works, Justin prides himself on careful commercial management spanning a range of contract forms. Justin leads the commercial team at Claritas and is committed to developing new talent through our trainee and apprenticeship programme.
Lee Yeates
Operations Director
As Operations Director, Lee ensures preparation, application, diligence and execution across every project. Following his formative years ‘on the tools’ as a carpenter, Lee has worked with major tier one contractors, specialist MMC suppliers, and construction management consultants – constantly broadening his knowledge and experience.
Lee brings a pragmatic streak to the group, always asking the important ‘that’s all very well’ questions, that are critical to ensuring the golden thread is maintained on every project – from inception to final completion.