Our People

John Thompson

CHAIRMAN

John is one of the UK’s most experienced Demolition Directors having been in this business since leaving school in 1982. John has over 39 years of demolition experience with 23 of them at Director level. John has completed two terms as Chairman of the Northern Region of the NFDC and he has also sat as regional representative on the National Council on two occasions each time for two years. John has recently been appointed as the Company Chairman following the retirement of John Thompson Snr.

Helen Hillary

GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Helen Hillary joined the family business straight from school in 1984.  During Helens’ career she has mastered various roles focusing on the running of Thompsons of Prudhoe specialising in Human Resources for the entire Group.  Helen was invited to join the board of directors in 1998 and duly appointed HR Director and has today developed a strong functional HR department to support the workforce and drive forward the business activities. In 2020 Helen was appointed Group Executive Director following her father’s retirement and alongside her Brother John, have taken the reins of the business.    

Nick Shilling

Managing Director

Nick Shilling joined the contracts team at Thompsons after leaving school in 1993, continuing to study he qualified as a Civil Engineer.  Nick was promoted to Contracts Manager in 1997 with his company wide knowledge and industry experience took lead on earthmoving and demolition projects with a drive for client satisfaction through delivery of projects on time and without incident.  Nick has an infectious personality with both clients and his peers alike.  Due to his hard work, professionalism, and dedicated work ethic Nick was invited to join the board as Projects Director in 2014. Nick has invaluable experience and promotes team spirit across the Thompson organisation, he is well respected throughout the industry & in 2020 Nick was invited by the board to take the role of Managing Director of Thompsons of Prudhoe.

Chris Dobson

HEALTH & SAFETY DIRECTOR

Chris Dobson joined the business in 2002 as Health & Safety Manager. From this point Chris gradually grew and developed the H&S Department at Thompsons. Through his hard work and proficiency, along with exceptionally high standards of Health & Safety, he was appointed Health & Safety Director in 2022. Chris is an integral member within the Thompsons organisation and leads our Health & Safety team across the Groups operations including Demolition, Earthworks and Asbestos Removal. Chris uses his industry knowledge and hands-on professional approach for all projects, no matter their complexity or size, ensuring our commitment to Safety First. Chris is a Fellow of the Asbestos Management Institute, a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), a Member of the Institute of Demolition Engineers and carries an
MSc in Environment, Health & Safety.

Ryan Molloy

ENVIRONMENTAL DIRECTOR

Ryan is appointed as the Group’s Environmental Director and is responsible for ensuring the companies compliance with all current and forthcoming legislation. For the last 18years, Ryan has been heavily involved in the categorisation of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes across our business portfolio of projects and was welcomed to the board of directors in Jan 2021 having spent 16years as an important member of the senior management team.

Tom Koerner

Operations Director

Tom Koerner joined Thompsons in 2014 where he quickly demonstrated his ability and experience within the industry. Tom is a highly-trained demolition professional who is client-focused and strives for excellence in performance. Tom is responsible for the overall management of all our high-profile and complex demolition/decommissioning projects across the business. Tom is an Appointed Person for Lifting Operations, holds a CCDO Black Card and is a Chartered Construction Manager.  In 2021 Tom was invited to join the board of Directors as Operations Director.