Meet the Team.

The people behind Engage.

The Engage family is currently over 50 strong and continues to grow. Our team have a huge variety of proven backgrounds, but they all have in common the ambition to give the best support and advice to their clients.

Sarah Elliott

Finance Administrator

Sarah started working for Engage in February 2020 after previously working in Hospitality and Finance.

Sarah’s full-time working career started in a hotel where she gained the confidence and experience to get to the position she is at now. Currently at Engage, Sarah has started studying towards an AAT accounting qualification. Being able to put theory into practice is ensuring Sarah develops at speed, and her previous experience means Sarah really adds depth to the Finance Administrator role. Sarah’s enthusiasm and passion for learning has helped assist the running of the finance department.

Jim Pirrie

Jim Pirrie

Principal Consultant

Jim is a highly successful Programme and Project Manager with professional skills in delivery of C4ISR Information Technology, Through-Life Support Solutions, Business Transformation and Change within the UK Defence sector.

Jim’s recent support roles include Project Manager for delivery of the Through-life Support Management solution for a new deployable communications capability and Programme Manager for the integration of the F-35 Lightning II Multirole Fighter Autonomic Logistics Information System into UK Defence networks and Maritime Ships.

An APMP Project Manager, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management and Technical Member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

Paul Bennets

Paul Bennetts

Principal Consultant

Paul is a forward thinking, highly skilled Project Engineer with a full understanding of the military structure having completed 26 years in a demanding and diverse career within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Army.

A positive and enthusiastic attitude with the ability to approach any task in an analytical manner, capable of remembering and acting upon imparted information, using problem solving skills to always ensure a successful conclusion.  Articulate, both in speech and written word, he is always able to present information in a professional manner. An experienced engineer and manager with the ability to schedule resources, delegate responsibilities, plan service and deliver product and projects effectively.

James Clark

James Clark

Senior Consultant

James is a Defence Supply Chain expert with 20 years’ experience in a wide variety of roles within this complex business area, including Disposals, Data Analysis, Logistic Information Systems delivery and a Tri-Service Supply Chain Manager.

An expert in the management of Data Migration, leading in this role for the successful delivery of 2 key Defence Log IS Projects in the base and deployed space.

A team player, individually motivated, able to work in isolation, extremely thorough and meticulous in all outputs. Delivery focused, with a proven track record in ensuring Projects are delivered to time and cost, regardless of complexity.

Leanne Bolton

Leanne Bolton

Programme Support Manager

Leanne joined Engage as an Office Administrator in September 2018 after working as an Administrator for the NHS. Leanne quickly demonstrated her skillset and was promoted to Office Manager in November 2018.

In addition to her daily role Leanne is also the Security Administrator for the company having completed the DISA Security courses, acting as the Company lead on any security matters. Leanne’s drive and determination to continually push herself, means that she is constantly developing and pushing into new areas of Engages business.

Jason Silver

Jason Silver

Senior Consultant

After a 12-year career in the REME as a Vehicle Mechanic Jason joined Engage in 2019.

Jason is currently working within Vehicle Support Team where he manages contracts and operations for the Post Design Services team. Jason works with multiple Teams throughout, including light and heavy wheeled platforms. Jason recently completed an Engineering Management Degree with Lincoln University and plans to use this to further his success as a consultant within Engage. Jason’s positive outlook and his ambition to develop professionally make him an asset to any team.

Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood

Finance Director

After graduating from Cardiff University in Accounting and Finance, Natalie joined the company in September 2013 as the Book-keeper.

During her career with Engage, Natalie has developed, maintained and improved the financial processes to successfully run the Accounts Department.

Natalie’s keen eye for detail and excellent financial expertise allows her to maintain control over all aspects of the company’s finances allowing her to gain much more experience than her peers.

Natalie has recently taken on an administrator, whom she is also supporting through her studies in finance.

David Gagen

David Gagen

Managing Director

David is a former Army Officer who served in the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (REME) from 1986-2007.  A professionally qualified engineer David had a varied career serving all over the world including Hong Kong and Oman.

On leaving the Army David went into technical consultancy with several smaller companies. David established Engage in 2011 and has been Managing Director since 2013. David’s passion for Engage (his third child) consistently shines through, alongside his pride at working with such an extraordinary group of people.

Joseph Buckley

Joe Buckley

Operations Manager

Joseph Buckley initially worked as a Senior Consultant before promoting to Principal Consultant within Engage as a project manager within Defence. He has now become the Operations Manager within Engage HQ, Leading the Operations Department to ensure the smooth running of our Projects, Resource, Recruitment and Onboarding processes.

Having achieved a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Swansea University Joseph possesses the technical background to succeed and excel managing technically complex projects. Joseph joined Engage Technical Solutions in 2019 where he has delivered key milestones on multiple projects, receiving exemplary feedback throughout. Josephs constant drive to develop his skills and experience makes him an asset to any team he works on, and his positive demeanor a joy to work with.

Carrie Allen

Carrie Allen

Senior Consultant | Recruitment Co-ordinator | Knowledge Management Lead

Carrie recently left the British Army after 15 years in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. She recently completed her BSc (HONS) in Engineering Management at an open university.

Carrie enjoys learning new skills and has recently passed her Prince2 and APM Project Management qualifications. Her military and engineering experience with various vehicle platforms allows her to engage and understand the clients’ needs, which adds significant value to the projects she is working on.

Karina Pearce

Karina Pearce

Operations Director

Karina initially worked at Engage as a consultant and was appointed as the Operations Director in January 2022.

David Sullivan

David Sullivan

Principal Consultant

David Sullivan joined the British Army in 1978 directly from the Army sponsored Welbeck College and joined the Royal Corps of Signals in 1979.

David has served in a wide variety of Regimental and Defence roles in UK, Germany, Canada and the USA.

David retired from the British Army in late 2013 having spent his final fourteen years procuring and supporting Defence communication and information systems.  He joined Engage Technical Solutions in September 2013 and has had great varied assignments covering IS procurement, Business Relationship Management, Data Management, Income Generation and Logistics Optimisation.

John Foster

John Foster

Capability Director

John served as an REME officer in the British Army for over 19 years qualifying as an aircraft engineer and logistic staff officer, deploying on operational tours to the Balkans, Middle East and Northern Ireland.

In 2005, John left the Army to join industry and undertook various consulting roles in the UK and Abu Dhabi before becoming the COO at AppLearn.

Having missed the defence environment, John returned became an independent defence consultant before joining Engage as the Senior Engineer in 2019.  John still plays competitive hockey and has a passion for fly fishing and singing, sometimes undertaken concurrently.

Our Associates.

Working closely with the Engage team.

To meet our clients’ diverse and specialist requirements, we can call on over 100 Associates. All have been carefully selected using the same exacting interview process as the permanent Engage team, and many of them have worked with Engage over numerous years.

Kate Harper

Kate Harper

Associate

Kate Harper is a professionally qualified Learning Development Consultant and ex-Army Officer with extensive experience of working with public, private and voluntary sector organisations.

Kate has a proven track record of leading and developing high performance teams and influencing across stakeholder groups to achieve outstanding results.

Current in modern business and innovative training concepts, Kate can analyse strategic organisational needs and problem solve to develop, deliver and evaluate transformational training and development solutions.

Kate has Masters’ degrees in Management of Training and Development and Defence Studies, and a CMI Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Leadership and Development.

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Careers at Engage.

Are you good enough?

We are always looking for the right people. But we know there aren’t many around. If you really think you are a cut above the rest, then we want to hear from you.

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