Board of directors
Simon Parrington
Founder & Group CEO
Simon founded Celnor in 2023, before which he was the Group CEO at Cawood Scientific, a fast-growing testing business primarily focused on agriculture. During his three-year tenure, he led seven acquisitions and introduced a significant modernisation programme. Cawood was sold to US based conglomerate EBI in late 2021. Simon spent much of his earlier career as Managing Director and majority shareholder of SOYL, a pioneering and market-leading agri-tech business.
Simon Clennell-Jones
Managing Director
Simon joined Celnor in January 2024. Previously, Simon has worked at WSP, ARCADIS and, most recently, Delta-Simons, where he was instrumental in the growth of the geoenvironmental, geotechnical and transactional due diligence divisions into one of the UK’s leading independent land contamination consultancy providers. He was part of the leadership team that sold the Delta-Simons business to Lucion Group in 2021.
Jon Fowler
Chief Operating Officer
Jon joined Celnor in January 2025, with over 34 years of leadership experience, Jon brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the company, having successfully led businesses across multiple sectors, including both private and public service industries. Before joining Celnor, Jon was the Managing Director of a diverse portfolio of hard, soft, and compliance services at OCS Group, where he played a pivotal role in driving significant growth. This growth ultimately led to the sale of the company to a large private equity firm. Jon’s extensive background also includes senior leadership roles at Wincanton Plc, Iron Mountain Inc., and Hays Plc.
Anushka Bakshi
Director of People
Anushka is a strategic, people-focused HR leader and Group People Director. Since joining in June 2024, she has driven growth and cultural alignment through sustainable organisational design and talent development. Formerly Chief People Officer at SCIRIS Group, she led global people strategy during rapid expansion. Her career spans M&A, transformation, and leadership development across diverse sectors including luxury, healthcare, and automotive. Anushka blends commercial acumen with empathy and cultural intelligence to deliver impactful, people-led solutions.
Fergal Cawley
Chief Financial Officer
Fergal joined Celnor as Group Chief Financial Officer in 2024. He began his career in the healthcare industry, as a clinical pharmacist but went on to qualify as a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW), working for EY, Andersens and PwC. Since then he has held senior finance roles in the UK and Europe for GlaxoSmithKline, Avis Budget Group and Cupio Healthcare. He has a wealth of experience in leading companies through periods of growth and operational change.
Neil Cox
Chairman
Neil joined Celnor to support the team in building the Group through acquisition and organic growth. With an engineering degree from Cambridge University and an MBA from Manchester Business School, Neil brings a wealth of expertise to help Celnor and its member companies achieve their ambitions. His career includes many years at Sovereign Capital and NM Rothschild. He is also Chairman of Dains Accountants.
Mark Williams
Non-Executive Director
Mark is a Senior Partner at our majority shareholder, Inflexion, where he is responsible for all aspects of investment sourcing and management. He focuses on the Testing, Inspection and Certification market having led multiple successful investments in the space including as Alcumus, Phenna and now Celnor. He holds an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and will support Celnor in accelerating its strong growth.
Nigel Patrick
Non-Executive Director
Nigel joined Celnor in August 2023 following a long career in the testing and analysis industry at Cawood Scientific Ltd. At Cawood, he led the group’s organic and inorganic expansion. In 2010, he led a management buyout, and over the following 12 years held CEO and NED roles through three rounds of ownership until he left the business in 2021. Nigel’s vast industry experience will be invaluable to Celnor as we grow the Group over the coming years.
Jez Smith
Advisory Director
With a background in laboratory operations, Jez joined Celnor in June 2023 to advise the board and leadership team on operational matters. MBA-educated, he believes in achieving performance through the development of strong processes and a culture of continual improvement. Prior to Celnor, Jez was the chief operating officer at Cawood Scientific, and he has held previous director roles at Eurofins, Alcontrol and Synlab.
Gary Corrigan
Advisory Director
Gary has extensive experience in the construction materials testing and inspection sector. He joined Celnor in July 2023 to advise on operational and business management as well as business acquisition, integration and growth. Before joining Celnor, Gary worked exclusively with CET’s Infrastructure Division (now Construction Testing Solutions), culminating in three years as Managing Director.