Meet the Judges

Mike Smith became ECA’s Technical Director in 2019. Mike previously held a variety of commercial roles at SES Engineering Services over a 25 year period, including as the firm’s estimating and sector director. Mike has worked on projects totalling tens of millions of pounds, helping the firm grow its turnover significantly.

Born near Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East, Mike is the son of an architect who worked for construction firm Taylor Woodrow. Mike followed in his father’s footsteps, joining the construction industry as an electrical apprentice straight from school just before his 16^th birthday. Mike’s JIB electrical apprenticeship was with R & I Harrison in Leeds, which resulted in him gaining Approved Electrician status.

Mike was previously ECA President 2017/18, having been senior vice president for one year prior to that. He had held numerous other roles with the ECA since becoming directly involved back in 1999.

Helen became ECA’s Director of Member Services in September 2014 and is responsible for the Regional Teams, Member Services, Marketing, Communications, PR & Public Affairs, and ECS Contact Centre Operations. Previously Helen worked for the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) where she was Director of Strategy and Communications. Prior to that, she was Director of Client Services at CORGI and Membership Services Director at BTS Ltd. Her career has also spanned house building, local government, technical publishing and consultancy.

ECA Industry Awards judging panel will be moderated by Helen, but she will not be involved in the judging decisions.

Matt Nimmons is Managing Director of CEDIA EMEA, the leading association for the residential home technology industry. Matt’s role is to oversee the operations and implementation of the association’s strategy, whilst defining the programmes and activities to reflect these strategies. Joining CEDIA over 12 years ago, Matt previously held positions in the Operations team, where he was responsible for organising, managing, and marketing key events in the industry’s calendar, including the CEDIA Home Technology Event and the CEDIA Awards. Before joining CEDIA, Matt held marketing roles at British loudspeaker manufacturer, Mission, and The Acushnet Company, one of the largest manufacturers of golf equipment in the world.