Meet our ProPitch team

Agronomist

ian.craig@propitch.online

Ian, from Balloch in West Dunbartonshire, joined ProPitch from Indigrow where he worked as a Agronomist, having previously spent 4 and a half years with the STRI in Scotland and before that living in Norway working in the golf industry.

Ian brings a wealth of national and international experience with him to the ProPitch team, having worked on the past two World Cups for STRI/FIFA and also on several African Cup of Nation tournaments, among others. Ian graduated from University of Central Lancashire in 2006 with a degree in Turfgrass science.

Sports Turf Consultant

dean.tingley@propitch.online

Dean joined the ProPitch team in 2021 as a Sports Turf Consultant. Dean’s previous role was a Senior Project manager at Idverde. Dean joins with a strong and varied background having worked in various roles across the industry gaining knowledge and experience whilst also continuing academic studies.

A depth of knowledge of hybrid products, installation of hybrids and ongoing maintenance practices along wih his experience as a leading groundsman allows him to see the solution and not just the problem for clients.

Sports Turf Consultant

andrew.culbert@propitch.online

Andrew Culbert has joined our ProPitch team as a Sports Turf Consultant from Watford FC.

As well as having a degree in Sports Turf Science and Management Andrew has an array of on site experience from greenkeeping. project management to a Premier League stadium experience.

Andrew’s first projects since joining in the summer of 2022 has been tournament delivery, testing and consultancy at the UEFA Women’ EURO 2022, The DP World Tour Cazoo Classic at Hillside Golf Club, and then the kick off assessments for UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany.

ProPitch & Framework Administrator

calumm@sportslabs.co.uk

Calum joined the ProPitch team in 2022 as ProPitch administrator/coordinator. Calum comes from a strong footballing background having played professionally with Ross County (ages ago).

Thereafter, after graduating from the University of Stirling in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sport Studies & Marketing - he has since worked at some large football organisation’s such as the Scottish Football Association and Rangers Football Club.

The projects he has been involved/focused on since starting with ProPitch, have been tournament/field technician coordination for the UEFA Women’ EURO 2022 competition and the kick-off field assessments which are being conducted ahead of the UEFA EURO 2024 tournament in Germany.’

Aaron Cross has joined the ProPitch team as a Sports Turf Analyst.

His favourite thing about the turf grass industry is how diverse it is. The opportunities are endless. He thought he was well travelled until he met the team at ProPitch!

He is a big football fan, specifically a massive Southend United supporter, someone has to! Whilst following Southend United he managed to visit over 70 football stadiums in England.

Managing Director

eric@sportslabs.co.uk

With a background of 39 years in testing, primarily as a civil engineer, Eric a graduate of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh has been involved in sports construction since 1988..

During a varied career, Eric has participated in the development of international standards, including the FIFA Quality Concept for Football Turf and Natural Turf. and sits on the panel of experts for World Rugby.

Technical Director

richard@sportslabs.co.uk

Since graduating from Napier University in Edinburgh, Richard has been at the forefront of the sports surface industry, consistently working to set the standards for both performance and durability and being an innovator of test equipment, improving the ability to produce objective test results in a repeatable manner,

Associate Director & Operations Manager

keith.macpherson@propitch.online

With 15 years of working in the sport surface sector and 10 years of that managing a field testing department Keith has taken on the operations management of ProPitch. With a proven track record of operating to a ISO quality system and working under the auspices of a global governing body programs Keith also represents ProPitch on technical working groups. Graduating with a First Class honours in Sports Technology in 2007 from Edinburgh Napier University he was also the class medal winner.

An avid follower of Ross County Football Club he has a passion for all sports but in his early days he was national Judo champion.

Associate Director & Business Development

niall@sportslabs.co.uk

With more than 15 years of experience in the sports surface testing industry, Niall is a graduate of Sports Engineering from Strathclyde University. As a postgraduate, Niall studied at Loughborough completing his certificate in Management and Leadership.

Niall is involved in governing body technical meetings and CEN working groups, advising on technical documents and best practice. He has also led testing teams globally on high-profile events and sporting projects, with tight delivery expectations.

In sport, Niall has played for his country Scotland at Shinty on eight separate occasions, both senior and U21 level. He captained the Scotland Under 21 team against Ireland and also captained his home club, Fort William, when winning the Scottish cup in 2010.

Consultancy Manager

david@sportslabs.co.uk

Graduated with a honours degree in Civil Engineering in 2012 from The University of The West of Scotland. David has since performed roles in construction as a site engineer followed by design consultancy services, site investigation, including works on major infrastructure. He then moved to a more senior role as part Sports Scotland’s facility project management team before joining our consultancy team and progressing to Consultancy Manager in June 2018.

David has had exposure to many different sectors of the construction industry from both the design and site sides plus extensive exposure to the sporting industry. His career has also had an emphasis on geotechnical engineering and more recently in project and construction management. As a side note David is a SFA category 1 referee which sees him exposed to professional football all over Scotland.

Field Office Manager

nicola@sportslabs.co.uk

Nicola has been with Sports Labs for over 5 years, working specifically in the field-testing department. Nicola joined us with more than 15 years’ experience and she is critical to the testing and certification process of fields managing our governing body portals and issuing reports to clients.

From managing multiple teams on the road, and equipment resources at headquarters and overseas Nicola is at the heart of everything we do.

Accounts Administrator & Credit Controller

alison@sportslabs.co.uk

Alison brings a wealth of experience to our credit control and accounts department. With a great sense of humour, Alison has an extremely active lifestyle, running, climbing, water sports to name a few.

Associate Director | Laboratory

sean@sportslabs.co.uk

Sean studied management and leadership at Loughborough University. He is our Laboratory Director and has been with Sports Labs since 2005. Sean is an expert in UKAS / IS0 17025 accreditation process and the acquisition of governing body accreditations. Managing a lab team under ISO 17025 and having over 25 years in civils and aggregate testing allows Sean to bring much experience to discussions on site materials compatibility and risk mitigation.