Our People

Bio to follow

Mark has over 25 year’s management experience within the leisure sector, starting on the ground floor as a lifeguard and fitness coach. He has substantial operations management expertise having managed leisure and community centres, sports grounds and sports development teams; and has been involved in strategic level management since 1996.

Appointed as Chief Executive of Circadian Trust (formerly South Gloucestershire Leisure) in early 2006, he has overseen the development of the company from fledgling independent Charity to successful Social Enterprise.

Mark is a passionate advocate of the power of sport and physical activity and the positive influence and effects it can have on individuals and communities. He is also an Executive Board member of the Sports and Recreation Trusts Association (Sporta), Chair of the South Gloucestershire Sports and Physical Activity Partnership and Chair of the National Skills Academy Regional Operations Group.

Craig has now been working in the leisure industry for over 25 years, climbing his way up the ladder from work experience to Operations Director. This includes various roles at Yate, Kingswood and Bradley Stoke Leisure Centres.

He is a keen sportsman and one of the country’s rare QPR fans.

At Circadian Trust Craig manages and coordinates the operation of all company facilities and taking the lead role in delivering continual improvements to service delivery and financial performance.

Juliet has worked in the not for profit sector since graduating from Exeter University in 1986.  The first 14 years of her career were spent working for Citizens Advice, where her duties ranged from 8 years managing a CAB in Peckham to providing IT support to all CABx in London.  She specialised in Money Advice and later trained as an accountant. 

Juliet worked as a Financial Manager for Housing Associations and Voluntary Sector Support Councils before being appointed as Finance Director to South Gloucestershire Leisure just prior to the transfer to the Trust.

Ian has an Industrial background from the Steel Industry whilst working part-time in leisure.  He has worked full time in leisure since 1981 and whilst working for several Authorities he quickly moved up the ranks through various promotions.  At the age of 36 Ian went to university to study Energy Management. 

At Circadian Trust Ian now manages the Facilities Management support section. This is a varied role but key areas are managing building services, energy and environmental management, health and safety, ground maintenance and capital refurbishments for Circadian Trust buildings.

Bio to follow

Dean graduated in 1995 with a BA (hons) degree in Recreation Management. After some part time work as a Recreation Assistant at Patchway Sports Centre (and another part time job at a chocolate factory!) Dean gained management experience in a variety of roles in a 14 year career with South Gloucestershire Leisure.

At Circadian Trust Dean is Area Manager and has overall responsibility for Bradley Stoke and Thornbury Leisure Centres.

On leaving Worcester College of Higher Education in 1977 Roland went on to take up a teaching post at Katherine Lady Berkeley’s School in Wotton-u-Edge. This post included teaching physical education and science while combining the management of the schools dual use sports facilities. However, in 1982 as Roland’s interest in managing leisure facilities increased he secured a Duty Manager position at Thornbury Leisure Centre. After various promotions Roland worked as Centre Manager for an enjoyable 15 years.

At Circadian Trust, Roland works as Area Manager covering Yate, and Longwell Green Leisure Centre’s with a responsibility for the Learn to Swim programmes. His role now involves the responsibility for developing the business and management systems for these areas.

Since leaving University with a HND in Leisure Management. Sonja has worked in the Leisure Industry for 15 years in both the private and public sector.  Starting out as a Lifestyle Consultant and qualifying as an Advanced Gym Instructor she then progressed into management.  Sonja had various management roles in private health club companies until 2003, also gaining the NEBOSH qualification. Shortly afterwards she joined South Gloucestershire Leisure.

At Circadian Trust, Sonja’s role as Centre Manager of Kingswood Leisure Centre is to ensure an efficient and effective utilisation of all resources within the Centre; maximise usage and income and improved quality of service is delivered.

Bio to follow

Dave has been working in the leisure industry for almost 30 years, starting as a casual Lifeguard at Thornbury in the early eighties. After spells as a leisure assistant and duty manager Dave moved into the private sector where he had various Health Club manager positions. Finally he returned to South Gloucestershire in 1996 as Fitness manager at Yate where he started the highly successful circuit class which still runs today with over 100 people attending each session. Dave then progressed to senior fitness manager before moving his current role.
Anyone who knows Dave will be aware that he is a season ticket holder at Chelsea and has been since retiring from rugby many years ago.
He is also a frustrated travel agent and spends many an evening planning his annual holidays to far away destinations.

At Circadian Trust, Dave is directly responsible for the management of all adult fitness activities across the Active Fitness Brand, tasked with developing and delivering a quality service for our customers and developing strategies to ensure the continual improvement of the Active Fitness brand.

Bio to follow

Gemma, who has Chartered Membership status of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), has worked in Human Resources for over 12 years, 7 of which have been associated with or within the Leisure industry.   

At Circadian Trust Gemma is responsible for the leadership of the Human Resources department and management of the Human Resources staff.  Gemma and her team provide a comprehensive Human Resources management support service within the organisation.

After completing a degree in Sports Science, Andy has nearly 10 years experience in the leisure industry in both the private and public sectors. He has worked his way through several roles from Fitness Assistant to Assistant Manager.

Away from work he plays a variety of sports and support Newcastle United from afar!

At Circadian Trust, Andy’s current responsibilities include developing the Integrated Management System across the organisation, updating and reviewing all policies and procedures.

Janice has worked for a number of different organisations within Sales, Production & Finance departments and later on managed a sales department which included having a sales territory covering the whole of England.

Janice joined South Gloucestershire Leisure in April ’08 as a Finance Assistant having gone back to college and passed AAT Technician. She was then appointed Finance Manager February ’09.

At Circadian Trust Janice is directly responsible for the management of the finance and accounting functions, to ensure improvements in quality of service and to co-ordinate the work of the Finance Team.

Bio to follow

Neil retired from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals in 1996 at the age of 51, to throw himself into the formation of South Gloucestershire Council. Hi job title at the time was Commercial Manager which covered a broad range of activities.

Neil was a councillor there for sixteen years, six of which were spent as Leader of the Council. During this time he was involved in the negotiation for the formation of the Trust. For the past four years he has sat on the other side ensuring it succeeds.

Rob is a Client Relationship Manager specialising in pensions at Scottish Widows, with 27 years experience in finance and marketing.  

He joined the Leisure Trust Board in March 2011 because he wanted to support his local community by helping the Trust deliver a quality leisure service. He does this by drawing on both his commercial experience and own perspective as a regular user leisure centre user.

Nick currently works as the Finance Director for a soft drinks company called Bottlegreen Drinks Company. His key skills are in Finance and he was one of the original Trust members joining the Board in 2005.

Nick has lived in Yate most of his life and joined the Board to improve sports and leisure facilities and to give something back to the community in an area that interests him.

Adrian is a Chartered Surveyor with over 30 years experience in private practice and central government. He is currently a member of a Government Specialist Unit valuing large retail units and unique commercial properties for national taxation throughout Wales, Central England and the West Country.

Adrian joined the Board in 2006 to develop links between users; he is particularly interested in swimming and keen to ensure that all sections of society have access to quality leisure facilities.