Meet the Catalyst Interiors Team
Our team of over 20 passionate individuals is a carefully blended collection of complementary skills, experience and knowledge that makes us best in class we believe.
Whilst recognising the need for a collective identity and purpose we have always believed in the value of having a culture that stimulates & nurtures the individual creativity of each member, and we invest in on-going training and skills enhancement, both in-house and external, to support what our customers tell us is the team with the ‘can do’ mentality that seeks to make our sector an unrivalled place to work and enjoy what we do.
Below are the current members of our team and a little insight into each individual and what they add to our collective strength:
Mike Davies
Managing Director
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Ala Ahmed
Project Manager
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Carys Asbridge
Interior Designer
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Charlotte Platt
Interior Designer
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Charlotte Rawlins
Project Coordinator
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Chris Withers
Project Coordinator
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Dave McMahon
Operations Manager
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Ekaterina Zhimerikina
Project Coordinator
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Erica Smith
Interior Designer
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Jade Mannion
Interior Designer
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Jim Gilson
Project Manager
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Julie Leadbetter
Director of Operations
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Kate Challinor
Accounts Manager
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Kristen Willoughby
Project Coordinator
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Nicola Mosedale
Project Coordinator
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Matt Davies
Project Manager
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Sandra Deary
Supply Chain & Quality Manager
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Ashley Colquitt
Interior Designer
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Hannah Ryan
Junior Interior Designer
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Harry Leadbetter
Junior Project Manager
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Les Evans
Project Manager
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Rebecca Bailey
Business Development Executive
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Sam McMahon
Warehouse & Logistics Coordinator
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Meet the Catalyst Interiors Team
Our team of over 20 passionate individuals is a carefully blended collection of complementary skills, experience and knowledge that makes us best in class we believe.
Whilst recognising the need for a collective identity and purpose we have always believed in the value of having a culture that stimulates & nurtures the individual creativity of each member, and we invest in on-going training and skills enhancement, both in-house and external, to support what our customers tell us is the team with the ‘can do’ mentality that seeks to make our sector an unrivalled place to work and enjoy what we do.
Below are the current members of our team and a little insight into each individual and what they add to our collective strength:
Carys Asbridge
Interior Designer
Joining Catalyst in December 2021 after graduating from university with a 2:1 in Interiors Design and a Distinction in MSc 3D Design & Technologies, Carys is an enthusiastic designer with a strong desire to create beautiful and meaningful spaces that have a positive and lasting influence on the end user.
Carys has had a love for Interior Design since an early age, growing up around family and also working within the industry inspired her to pursue a career in Interior Design– her fun fact is that she was on site at 3 months old…not sure Health and Safety would allow this today. However, this has enabled her to gain invaluable insight and experience in the design industry across sectors including hospitality, leisure, and residential. Carys was able to draw from this and build on her knowledge during her studies. This led to Carys having an interest in the healthcare sector, specifically surrounding design for dementia.
In her spare time, you will find Carys out running or out with the girls, prosecco in hand…there’s no in-between.
Charlotte Platt
Interior Designer
Charlotte joined the team at Catalyst in July 2021, graduating from university with a 1st class honours degree in Interior Design.
Charlotte was interested in designing for the healthcare industry at the early stages of her university experience, which focused on research about the relationship between healthcare and Interior Design. She now uses her skill set to bring client’s visions to life, and is passionate about designing to enhance the lives of those living and working in the healthcare industry.
Out of work, Charlotte is obsessed all things home décor and her sausage dog Barney.
Charlotte Rawlins
Project Coordinator
A lady of few words (or rather at least when it comes to giving the writer a steer!) Charlotte lets her work do the talking in her role of Project Coordinator, ensuring that our clients are kept on time, on budget & on side!
Out of work Charlotte likes walking her dog, and baking, but found combining the two to be difficult, but practice makes perfect they say.
Chris Withers
Project Coordinator
This is Chris one of our new Project Coordinator’s.
Chris joined Catalyst recently leaving his Service Manager role with a well know High Street Brand. Chris is looking forward to assisting us on new up and coming projects, and he is looking forward to a complete career change.
In his spare time, Chris enjoys traveling, having recently been to 10 European cities. As a Coffee Connoisseur, Chris can be found in the kitchen making Iced coffee flavoured with syrups. Chris also likes socialising and is always first on the guest list!
Dave McMahon
Operations Manager
Another 5-year resident in the team (we had a great intake that year!) Dave acts as our Operations Manager and takes away our logistical and support challenges, much to the delight and relief our fit out and installation team. The man that solves our day to day problems for IT, Stock & Baby Powder (just checking you were reading-this one may be spurious) Dave races ahead with our day to day needs, which perhaps explains why he was a professional racer in his earlier life (this one isn’t false).
Having emigrated to and lived in Greece in 2008 for 5 years, we were delighted an austerity overseas brough him back to us and broke him in gently with the running of a 50 bed care home. This after starting by driving a van and demonstrating he was too practical to let go, so he’s been here ever since, and like his former audience in racing he’s become a fans’ favourite.
Ekaterina Zhimerikina
Project Coordinator
Ekaterina is one of our Project Co Ordinator’s. Living in Wales, previously Ekaterina Studied Project Management in Russia, with excellent organisation skills and attention to detail we are lucky she joined our team.
Out of work Ekaterina enjoys spending time with her young family, Travelling, yoga & Tennis.
Erica Smith
Interior Designer
Erica has been in the Healthcare Design industry since 2015, with plenty of experience that aids and augments our already complementary Design team. With a Distinction in her Foundation Degree in Art & Design, Erica has a passion and true creative flare. Passionate about Interior Design for as long as she can remember, and with Dementia being close to her heart, this is the perfect job for Erica. She uses her specific Dementia design training and experience to create stimulating environments and attractive interiors.
In her spare time, you can find Erica walking her cocker spaniel Marley or getting involved in charity work where she works closely with schools in Ethiopia. Erica is also rather green fingered, and has one too many house plants!
Jade Mannion
Interior Designer
Joining Catalyst Interiors back in 2015 Jade has since become an SBID Accredited Designer, winning multiple awards including SBID International Design Awards, Pinders Healthcare Design Awards, Knight Frank Awards & CHA Awards. Growing up in a family business that made bespoke furniture, Jade developed an early interest in design & graduated with a BA Honours in Spatial Design.
Jade also has experience of designing high end private residences and office spaces but whilst she loves interior design – designing environments to enhance the lives of our older generation is an extremely rewarding role and one that she thoroughly enjoys.
Jade isn’t just a lover of all things interior design, she is also the proud owner of over 400 pairs of shoes, stating she can’t choose a favourite pair, although we simply think she can’t remember them all.
Jim Gilson
Project Manager
Having joined Catalyst at the start of 2022 in my role as Project Manager, I have been made welcome by everyone and have enjoyed clocking up the miles managing projects up and down the country. After two decades running my own construction company (having been a high school teacher before that), working with a team of people is something I have particularly enjoyed so far. Learning the specifics of creating environments in care homes that enhance peoples lives is very close to my heart and I hope that the experiences I have had in construction, people management and in education settings will be of benefit to the team.
Outside of work I am a dad to three boys, husband to my wife Sam, a keen sportsman with a long history of playing cricket and football, walker of two dogs and have recently become the owner of campervan some three decades old to keep us busy at weekends. My passion for travel has been with me since a young age and any spare time is spent planning the next adventure.
Julie Leadbetter
Director of Operations
As Director of Operations at Catalyst Interiors, Julie is a seasoned professional in the world of Care, bringing a wealth of expertise and strategic leadership to her role as Director of Operations.
Julie plays a pivotal role in shaping the company’s vision and ensuring seamless execution of projects. Her strategic mindset and ability to navigate the complexities of large-scale design initiatives have been instrumental in driving Catalyst Interiors’ success. Julie oversees the day-to-day operations with a focus on optimizing efficiency, fostering a collaborative work environment, and maintaining the highest standards of quality. With a dynamic career spanning over two decades, Julie consistently encourages her team to push boundaries, embrace new ideas, and explore unconventional solutions, ultimately delivering designs that are both timeless and cutting-edge. Julie isn’t afraid to use her experience to improve performance, and as a family member we’ve learnt to understand that special “Don’t ask, it’s got to happen” look to ensure our standards are always kept high
Kate Challinor
Accounts Manager
Our lady of the numbers , and boy are we glad that is so, Kate is a graduate (1st class honours no less) of Accounting & Business Management who joined us over a decade ago, when we let her escape from a life in local government auditing. Having said that we never thought that was her as Kate was once a WAG….well she is married to a former footballer now a professional manager for a North West Team.
If husband Dave is as good at managing Stockport County (whose recently gained promotion to the EFL ) as Kate is of managing our accounts then the Premier League beckons.
In the meantime, out of hours Kate can mostly be seen travelling up & down the M56 to Edgeley Park discussing the offside law & running a trial balance for us in her head
Kristen Willoughby
Project Coordinator
Kristen graduated with a Psychology degree and is now using the principles she learnt since recently joining the company as a Project Coordinator. Kristen got a keen eye for detail which is useful in making sure the project stays on track and within budget.
In her spare time Kristen enjoy going for walks with her dog, binging Netflix, and a cocktail or two.
Nicola Mosedale
Project Coordinator
Nicola joined the Catalyst team as Project Coordinator in 2021. She has 5 years’ experience as an FF&E Designer in hospitality interiors and is ready to put to good use the skills and knowledge she has previously gained.
Out of work Nicola can be found donning her granny slippers and doing some cross stitch or enjoying a “fair weather” hike – only if there’s a promise of a large slice of cake or, even better, an ice-cold G&T at the end!
Sandra Deary
Supply Chain & Quality Manager
Sandra is back to her roots re-joining Catalyst after leaving for pastures new 18 years ago! (She moved to Dorset) and worked for the local Government.
Sandra has a keen eye for figures and detail and is now back working for us on supply chain management and quality within the company.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, drinking Cider and less said the better supporting her beloved Everton!!
