The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has announced the promotions of three members of the CPA team.
Peter Brown has been promoted to Technical and Development Director, Chris Cassley has been made Policy Director and Katie Kelleher is now Technical Publications and Careers Manager.
Peter first joined the CPA team as Technical and Development Manager in April 2016, and has a long background in plant technical operation and maintenance activities. Starting as an experimental mechanic apprentice in 1976 for a global plant and machinery manufacturer, he has subsequently been employed in various roles in technical training and product support, further education, and technical qualifications and standards development at CITB, latterly as CPCS Product Manager. The promotion caps some 50 years of being involved within the plant sector.
Chris has worked for the CPA for almost seven years in the role of Policy Manager. Previously he spent 16 years at the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) where he was responsible for construction policy and acted as Secretariat to the CBI Construction Council.
Katie’s construction story started in 2014 when she was the first woman to commence the Lifting Technician Apprenticeship with Select Plant Hire, before becoming a Crane Operator working on large projects such as Crossrail and the Tideway Project. She also worked as an Appointed Person on a number of high-profile infrastructure projects. She joined the CPA in 2023 in the role of Technical and Development Officer.
CPA Chief Executive Officer Steve Mulholland said: “The last few months have been extremely busy and productive for the CPA team, and I am delighted to announce these well-deserved promotions. Peter has the skills, experience and knowledge of working with members and stakeholders in various areas of technical guidance, standards setting and training for the benefit of members. Chris, in his new role as CPA Policy Director, will take forward the CPA’s work on lobbying the Government and policymakers on key issues affecting the plant-hire industry.
“Katie is a real force of energy for positive change in construction plant-hire and her new role will see her promoting all things career related where we know there is still progress to be made. At the same time she’ll maintain technical support to the membership regarding all things lifting.
“These promotions will not only strengthen our team, but help support CPA members across a wide range of areas. This marks the next chapter in the association’s evolution, based on a very strong foundation,” he added.
In other developments, CPA Decarbonisation and Sustainability Manager Luis Bassett, who joined the CPA team in October 2024 from the London Borough of Merton, has been appointed the Subgroup Lead on the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) Working Group ‘Improving Efficiency: Using Best Practice’.
As part of his role as Subgroup Lead, Luis will represent the plant-hire industry, helping to raise the profile of solutions that reduce diesel consumption for the many cases where eliminating fossil fuels is not yet practicable.