Graeme Rees is new BCIA president

The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) has announced Graeme Rees as its new president. He takes over from Terry Sharp, who has held the role for the past two years, while Paul Wetherfield becomes vice-president.

Rees is the UK & Ireland digital energy marketing manager for Schneider Electric and has been involved in the building controls industry for more than 30 years, after starting his career as a project engineer at Lidworth. He later moved on to Bristol Management Systems before spending 19 years at Trend Control Systems, where he worked his way up from regional field services manager to marketing director.

Wetherfield is the CEO of Global Associates, a company which he joined in 2013 to drive growth by taking a long-term approach to creating a business that will stand the test of time. His passion is driven by the lack of young and talented engineers within the industry and he has shaped Global Associates around the development of young apprentices.

On his tenure as president, Sharp said: “I would like to thank everybody for their hard work and assistance during what has been an unpredictable two years for reasons outside of our control. It now gives me great pleasure to pass the baton on to Graeme who is not only a great friend but also a hard-working and very knowledgeable colleague. I am extremely grateful for the help and support he has provided in his two years as vice-president and I wish him the very best of luck in taking the BCIA forward.”

Rees added: “It is a huge honour for me to become president of the BCIA and I would like to thank Terry for helping to ensure the industry stepped up in response to what was and still remains an uncertain time. The roll out of the BEMS Controls Engineer Apprenticeship during his term will also help secure a key starting point for anybody looking to carve out a career in what can be a hugely rewarding industry. Looking ahead, I wish to build on Terry’s good work by tackling a number of issues and themes in order to keep the BCIA moving in the right direction.”