Nico Zurcher

Prior to becoming an investigator, Nico worked in a international environmental consultancy where he was involved in a number of major government marine projects in Hong Kong, as well as oil and gas, and mining projects around Asia. In 2011 he joined HFS-Asia in Hong Kong, where he worked as a fire investigator and consulting scientist. In 2015, Nico moved to London where he joined Hawkins to bolster our growing International and Shipping Incidents team. He continued investigating a broad range of land-based and marine incidents, both in the UK and internationally. He was also a member of our contamination team, taking on cases in the UK and Europe. Hawkins acquired HFS-Asia in 2016 and in 2020 Nico returned to Hong Kong to head the office he helped to build several years earlier. Nico has investigated several fires in large industrial plants, as well as in commercial and residential premises. On the marine side, he has investigated major fires on container and general cargo vessels. He has worked on numerous cases of bulk cargo spoilage, involving grains, oil seeds and seedcake. Nico has also worked on cases involving the carriage and storage of mixed chemical cargoes, and the contamination of […]

Hugh Martindale

Hugh is a Chartered Engineer with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He has degrees in Architecture and Mechanical Engineering with Business Finance, and a Mechanical Engineering PhD from University College London (UCL) on the behaviour of flexible pipe tensile armour in the region of an end fitting.

Thomas Leyland

Thomas graduated with a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Cambridge in 2011 having studied a broad range of engineering disciplines for the initial 2 years.

Sam A’Court

Sam has wealth of hands-on experience in the design, operation, maintenance, and modification of a wide range of process, utility, and safety systems, encompassing separation, heat exchange, produced water treatment, relief systems, and gas dehydration.

Benedict Barron

Dr Benedict Barron: Hawkins’ Fires & Explosions, Contamination & Pollution expert. Ben graduated from his PhD in Chemistry from Imperial College, London.

Jamie Paterson

Jamie is a chartered structural engineer with extensive experience in onshore and offshore structures. He holds a master’s degree in structural engineering, specializing in space frame structures, and has worked internationally in oil and gas projects, offshore platforms, and onshore buildings, including Passivhaus-certified designs. He currently serves as an Associate at Hawkins’ Glasgow office.

David Edwards

David started his career in 2005, with as a professional trainee at MITIE Engineering in London.

Stuart Mitchell

In 2022 Stuart joined Hawkins, as the Health and Safety Manager, based in the Bristol Office. He currently serves as the HSE and Facilities Manager.

Stephen Rowbotham

Stephen is enthusiastic about providing solutions to issues faced by clients in the changing business environment and the goal of achieving net zero power generation.

Margaret Wright

Margaret qualified as an Architect in November 1995 and has worked for several AJ100 architecture practices, most notably joining EPR Architects Limited in 1997, and becoming a company director in 2005.