Mark Oakes has been appointed to the new post of head of specialist group services and association secretary at the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES), following the retirement of Gareth Keller after 18 years of distinguished service.

In his latest role, Mr Oakes will provide the secretariat for the association’s four specialist groups – covering ductwork, heating and plumbing services, refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps, and service and facilities – and to the B&ES Council, the association’s governing body.

Mr Oakes joined B&ES as a specialist group services officer in 2006. Over the past eight years he has taken on additional responsibilities for the Joint Major Contractors’ Group – comprising the UK’s largest mechanical and electrical specialists – and the Building & Engineering Services Employers’ Alliance, which is committed to the modernisation of the sector’s industrial relations landscape.

During his previous career, he held a wide variety of marketing and communications management posts, in both the private and not-for-profit sectors.

Under the new arrangement, responsibility for the technical aspects of the work of the specialist groups – in particular, the development and revision of the association’s wide range of specifications and guides to good practice – will pass to Bob Towse, B&ES head of technical and safety.