Meet the Team
Murray Hudson
Managing Director & Chairman
Murray Hudson joined his father at Gratnells in 2000. He had previously obtained a Degree in Design Engineering and Manufacture at Loughborough University before working as a BBC journalist for 10 years. He succeeded his father as Managing Director in April 2012. He has spent nine years (2019-2019) on the board of BESA (British Educational Suppliers Association), the UK trade body that represents school suppliers. He was chairman of the British Educational Furniture Manufacturers Group from 2012-2016 but is still currently a member. Murray is also on the Equipment Manufacturers council of the US Education suppliers trade body EdMarket. He lives in central Cambridge and when he is not supporting his son Rory on a kart track, his daughter Olivia in the swimming pool, he is on his bike.
Peter Mayo
Financial Director & Company Secretary
Peter Mayo joined Gratnells in 1989 as an Accountant having spent the previous 8 years learning his trade in the travel, food manufacturing and engineering industries. Unfortunately Peter passed away on 21 September 2019. He is hugely missed.
Nick Pearch
Non Executive Director
Nick joined Gratnells as Non-Executive Director in 2013. As well as attending monthly board meetings Nick works with the executive directors on the implementation of the company’s strategy. He has 12 years’ experience as an independent director on the boards of a variety of privately owned companies. Prior to that he was Managing Director of Dyson International and helped to grow Dyson into the internationally recognized brand it is today.
John Shea
Non Executive Director
John joined the Gratnells board in November 2019 as a Non Executive Director. John is an experienced Management Consultant and Finance professional with additioinal expertise in Strategic Planning and Management Processes.
Gavin Maragh
Finance Director
Gavin controls the day to day finance function and leads the way on the new ERP system. He has over 12 years' accounting experience, most of which was as a financial controller in the consumer electronics distribution/manufacturing industry. He is a people person and spends most of his spare time entertaining his children.
Richard Picking
International Marketing Director
Richard has an extensive background in marketing, having worked around the world with blue chip companies such as Loctite and Ciba Geigy. Most recently he has been running his own digital marketing agency. He is Marketing Director for our UK and international markets. Away from the office Richard is keen on bikes - both the pedal and the motor varieties.
Loic Jones
Operations Director
Loic joined us from Flaktwoods in Colchester where he was Operations Director. His background is in Manufacturing and Quality in the HVAC and Automotive industries and he has over 25 years experience with various companies. Most of his spare time is split between helping to look after his four children and coaching the local kids football team.
Spencer Randon
Commercial Director
Spencer is responsible for all the UK and International sales and business development for Gratnells. He has extensive experience in international markets having actively sold to over 50 countries in many different market sectors. Not surprisingly he counts overseas travel as one of his interests and is a lover of architecture and design. Spencer is a keen chef and when time permits still plays field hockey for his local team.
Ann Mitchell
Accounts and Office Manager
If you need to know anything about Gratnells products Ann is the person to ask. Ann has been a key member of the Gratnells Accounts team for many years. When not hard at work Ann enjoys walking and travelling. She is friendly and always willing to help so please call with any questions you may have.
Chris Dolan
Product Designer
Chris is Gratnells resident new product designer. He is the brains behind all of our recent product launches from the entire Callero range through to the Gratnells Rover and Gratnells PowerTray. He has most recently designed the award-winning Gratnells MakerSpace Trolley.
Bhupendra Tailor
ERP System Manager
Bhupendra Joined Gratnells in March 2021. He brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge to help develop the ERP system and automation across the Company having spent over 35 years in IT. In his spare time, he enjoys playing squash and keeping fit.
Anthony Byrne
Product Manager
Anthony is our Product Manager, looking after existing ranges and developing new products for both the UK and export markets. He has a history of working in product management and marketing roles internationally and speaks French, Italian and Brazilian Portuguese. Away from the office, Anthony is usually found in the kitchen, cooking something Italian or Thai.
Bhavini Pandya
Learning Rooms Leader and Planning Learning Spaces in Practice Director
Bhavini has been a primary school teacher for the past 6 years in Cambridge. She has a passion for teaching and learning and is always keen to extend her knowledge about all things education related. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her family and exploring new places.
Emily Byham
Graphic Design and Marketing Coordinator
Emily is Gratnells' Marketing Coordinator and Graphic Designer. If you are interested in promotions with Gratnells or need any help with images, Emily is the person to contact. Outside of the office, Emily’s main passions are her dog, the great outdoors and photography. The majority of her spare time is spent exploring the UK’s coastal paths with her dog, capturing the wildlife and scenery as she goes.
Amy Collins
Digital Marketing Executive
Amy is our Digital Marketing Executive and brings with her an extensive knowledge of all things social media and video production. When not at work, you’ll most likely find her enjoying live music, spending time in London or chilling out with her godson.
Andrei Andronic
New Business and Key Accounts Manager (Nordics, Eastern Europe and Near East)
Andrei is responsible for sales and business development into Eastern Europe, Nordics and the Near East countries. He has experience working in these markets and enjoys the challenge of bringing Gratnells products to them. He loves travelling, interacting with people of diverse cultural backgrounds and discovering new cuisines. In his spare time he enjoys long walks, cycling and baking.
Luigi Ghezzi
New Business and Key Accounts Manager (Western Europe and North America)
Luigi is responsible for sales and business development into Western Europe and the USA. His expertise spans many different market sectors (from design to the wine industry). He can’t live without good music and travelling. If you need some advice about real italian pizza, he is the man.
Andrew Cunane
New Business and Key Accounts Manager (Asia Pacific)
Andrew is responsible for sales and business development into Asia-Pacific. He is a fluent Chinese Mandarin speaker and, having spent the majority of his professional career out in Asia, lives and breathes the Asian market. Andrew has a true passion for adventure and culture, if he’s not physically on a motorbike, then he is planning for the next time he is.
Tatiana Olivo
Head of Customer Experience
Tatiana is responsible for the Customer Service team & Sales Support. She is passionate about excellent customer service, and brings over a decade of experience. She enjoys travelling, and now re-taking learning Japanese on her free time.
Michael Green
Customer Services Team Leader
Michael is the head of our helpful Customer Service team. He brings significant customer service experience to our team. In his spare time he likes spending time with his children.
Viktoria Nagy
Account Manager - Export
Viktoria joined the Sales Team at Gratnells in August 2019. She spent a few years in Austria, Germany and Switzerland before she moved to the UK. Viktoria aims to ensure customer satisfaction and is responsible for our existing and new contacts. In her spare time she likes cooking, travelling and improving her crochet skills.
Léa Saadaoui
Account Manager
Léa is in charge of sales in the UK, France, Benelux and Southern Europe. She is passionate about sales and marketing. Her top priority is to satisfy customers and give them the best sales experience. She enjoys painting, running, learning foreign languages and is an absolute dog lover.
Fiona Willicombe
Customer Service Advisor
Fiona joined Gratnells as our customer service team leader, bringing with her 10 years of experience in customer services. In her spare time Fiona enjoys travelling, swimming, baking and spending time with family and friends.
So-Hing Lam
Customer Service Advisor
So processes the UK Sales Orders and deals with any product and price queries that customers may have. In her spare time she is a qualified Complementary Therapist and a Hobbyist of Sugar Craft & Cake Decorating.
Sabrina Polverino
Customer Service Advisor
Sabrina joined the customer service team at Gratnells, having spent nine years in the field of dentistry. She is a lover of languages and is fluent in both Spanish and Italian. In her spare time she enjoys travelling, salsa dancing and spending time with her friends and family.
Rachel Sefain
Customer Service Advisor
Rachel is a key member of our Customer Service team and will be happy to help you with any queries relating to your UK, France or Germany orders. Rachel speaks fluent French and good German. When not at work Rachel looks after her two pet rats - George and Michael
Wesley Hill
Customer Service Advisor
Wes has worked in customer service for 20 years including being Front of House Duty Manager for the biggest handling agent at Stansted Airport. Wes enjoys spending time with his wife and three children and friends, going out for meals, travel, film and many genres of music. He enjoys watching football and follows American Football and attends matches when the International Series comes to the UK.
Mark Esler
Technical Customer Service Advisor
Mark has joined the customer services team with a great knowledge of engineering having spent three and a half years managing ETO projects going into the middle east and India. He has a psychology degree from Bangor University and in his spare time loves playing golf and going to the cinema with his wife.
Callum Cockerill
Technical Engineering Advisor
Callum joined in October 2019 after graduating with a Master’s degree in engineering. In his spare time, he enjoys attending Leicester City matches as well as watching baseball
Jenny Poon
Accounts Administrator
Jenny provides administration help to Peter and Ann in the accounts department and is responsible for processing invoices. In her spare time Jenny loves to cook.
Kermitt 'Bernie' Bentham
Primary Manager
Kermitt is the person who makes sure all our metal products are produced to the highest quality standards. He has been a key member of the Gratnells team over 25 years. Not only does he make sure Gratnells products keep up our award-winning standards he continues his award-winning record on his days off. He is currently the Masters World Record holder for the 4 x 400 relay and the current European Champion 400m runner.
Philip McGowan
Injection Moulding Manager
Phil is our injection moulding technical manager. He helps to oversee quality control and tooling as well as managing and helping our apprentices to develop their skills, when Phil isn't at the moulding machines he likes going to gigs, playing guitar and spending quality time with his family.
Adrian Cook
Logistics Manager
Adrian makes sure all your orders are dispatched to you as smoothly and quickly as possible. Originally from Cleethorpes, he has lived in South Africa for the past 10 years and has a background in warehousing, sales management and logistics. Adrian is married with one child and loves sport particularly cricket and football.
Lee Wood
Quality Engineer
Lee is here so that the customer can be assured that they receive good quality products; as well as ensuring our processes are as lean and robust as possible to provide great value, and great lead times. Lee’s background is within the Aerospace industry, with an extensive knowledge of compliance to International Standards and Regulatory requirements. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family.
Ben Morris
Technical Production Engineer
Ben is one of our Injection moulding team leaders, in his spare time he enjoys going to the gym and spending time with his family, he has two sons. When he is at work Ben runs the plants and machinery and keeps everything in check he is also doing a 2365 electrical installations course which will help him in his role.
Lukasz Kisielewski
Production Engineer
Lukasz has worked as a Production Engineer at Gratnells for ten years now and is also a qualified car mecahnic. In his spare time, Lukasz enjoys motorsports.
Simon Ellis
Logistics Team Leader
Simon is one of our Logistics team leaders, he is originally from Devon, Simon has two daughters who he loves very much and he spends most of his time outside of work taking his daughters to various different activities apart from when he is cooking. When he is at work Simon spends his time running the team, helping them with any issues and solving any queries.
Mark Woods
Logistics Operator
Mark is one of our logistics operatives, he loves sports and in his younger days was a keen runner and even conquered the London marathon, Mark now runs part time and enjoys football, pool and darts as well.
Dean Bird
Logistics Operator
Dean is one of our logistics operatives, outside of work he likes to play computer games and take his dog for walks he also likes to spend time with his mum. At work you will find him operating a forklift helping to keep the stock organised.
Steve Martin
Logistics Operator
Steve is a part of our logistics team, he helps with picking and packing orders. When he is not at work he enjoys watching football.
Stefanos Apostolidis
Assembly
Stefanos works at Gratnells as the Team Leader in the assembly area. In his spare time, Stefanos spends time with his children and enjoys football.
Daniel Newman
Production Engineer
Daniel Newman has been working at Gratnells for over a decade and works in the Primary Section. In his spare time, Daniel enjoys taking his dogs to the park.
Peter Allison
Spray Line Operative
Peter was a long serving member of the Gratnells team who sadly passed away in 2021. His big smile and friendly nature are hugely missed by all of us.
Daniel Gillies
Laser Operator
Daniel joined Gratnells 3 years ago and works in the primary section, specifically focusing on sheet metal. In his spare time, Daniel likes to go to the cinema and play golf.
Steve Prow
Logistics
Steve joined Gratnells as part of the logistics team to maintain and improve our delivery performance by controlling our stock levels and stock data accuracy. His background in purchasing, material control and production planning help him to have the correct stock available at the right time to meet demand. Outside of work Steve’s two sons have recently flown the nest, he now finds time to grow a variety of chillis in his garden and watch a good boxset or film with his wife.
Patrick Orange
Logistics Operator
Patrick is one of our logistics operators, in his spare time he likes spending time with his family and is a coach for a local youth football team.
Dave Maddison
Injection Moulding Operator
Dave works in our injection moulding section and works hard to make sure that trays are transported and stored in the right places as well as running our scrap process. When he is not at work Dave enjoys watching football and spending quality time with his family.
Jamie Berry
Injection Moulding Apprentice
Jamie is one of our injection moulding apprentices he has already proved to be a vital part of the team and is looking forward to learning all there is to know about injection moulding. When he is not at work Jamie is a keen rugby player.
Thomas Fry
Injection Moulding Apprentice
Thomas is one of our injection moulding apprentices, proven to be a key member of the team Thomas is looking forward to being able to operate the machines. When he isn't at work Thomas likes to play football
Sam Nkorongo
Primary Apprentice
Sam is our primary apprentice, he works mainly on the welding robots and is keen to learn lots more about our primary section. In his spare time Sam likes to play cricket.
