Meet The Team
Our team are rated as some of the best in their field.
Click on the departments below to meet our team and get to know the people behind our company:
Directors
Chris Gibson
Managing Director
chris@ggmgroup.com
01282 860444
Chris established the company at its current Colne site in 2000 with Stuart our Sales Director and Hilary his wife and company secretary, and is responsible for the strategy of the group and building a team of people around him that are capable of delivering business growth through our friendly customer focused ethos.
Chris’s family have an association with Kubota that goes back over 40 years, his father being the first dealer in the UK to sign up as a dealer for Kubota Compact Tractors. Prior to joining the family business Chris studied Agricultural Mechanisation at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne where he graduated in 1986 with a 2:1. Following this in order to broaden his experience he worked for the Shuker Group in Shropshire to who at the time were both an agricultural and motor dealer group before returning back to Lancashire where he undertook various roles in Sales, Accounts and General Management working alongside his father before taking over as Managing Director on his father’s retirement.
Chris and Hilary have two sons, Andrew, and Thomas (who is part of our Haydock Service team team) and when not working Chris enjoys, spending time with the family, travelling with Hilary, cycling and sadly for him watching Bolton Wanderers.
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Hilary Gibson
Director
hilary@ggmgroup.com
01282 860444
Hilary is a company director and is responsible for Human Resources in the group as well as being a key member of our administration and accounting team. Hilary is passionate about training and helping all our team to develop to their full potential, mentoring, motivating and supporting others as necessary and is the hub of the entire team.
Prior to working within the business, Hilary started her career in travel and tourism before working in customer service for a large high street chain. Her extensive experience has certainly helped effect change within the group.
Hilary enjoys spending her spare time with her family, gardening, as well as travelling both in the UK and abroad.
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Andrew Melville
Commercial Director
Andy heads up the GGM Groundscare sales team and manages all activity of the internal and external sales staff teams and as a Director of the Company assists in the overall management of the whole business.
Andy has an extensive knowledge of the Groundscare industry starting out in 1985 when he joined the business as a van delivery driver, before training in the Parts Department and starting the first ever parts van sales operations in the North West. From this he then moved into internal sales for 2 years and never looked back. This naturally evolved into a Professional Machinery Sales role and developed from there into the position of Commercial Director. Andy oozes passion for the industry and there isn’t a lot he doesn’t know about groundscare and he really is at the centre of our knowledge bank.
Andy is married with 3 grown up children and loves spending his spare time with his family and is a secret DIY fanatic.
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Sales, Hire & Marketing
Andy Woolley
Area Sales Manager - Yorkshire
andyw@ggmgroup.com
07957 471374
Andy is our Area Sales Manager looking after customers across the Yorkshire region offering new and existing customers advice, support and product demonstrations. He thrives on meeting a wide variety of customers and building long lasting relationships with them.
After studying Horticulture at Askham Bryan College, Andy set up and successfully ran his own landscaping and grounds maintenance business for many years around the York, Leeds and Harrogate areas working with both domestic and commercial clients. For the last few years Andy has worked in car sales mainly supplying fleet vehicles to business users. After some time in this role he sensibly decided to return to the groundscare industry joining the GGM sales team in May 2021.
Andy lives with his teenage daughter and an extremely soppy cockerpoo. He enjoys running and cycling to keep fit, is interested in classic cars, particularly Jaguars, and likes to watch Formula 1 and British Touring Cars when he gets the time.
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Jack Fielding
Area Sales Manager - Lancashire
Jack is our Area Sales Manager covering Lancashire and his day to day role sees him providing customers both new and existing with advice and support and any required product demonstrations. Jack is passionate about customer service which is quickly apparent with those who deal with him.
After graduating from UCLAN in 2009 with a 2:1 BA (Hons) Sports Studies Jack’s career has seen him work in a hands on role in grounds maintenance and even as an events Co-Ordinator in Melbourne, Australia. In 2017 he joined the GGM team initially in Parts Sales but quickly developed his skills and moved into Machinery Sales in 2018. He loves how each day is different, visiting different customers with different needs.
Jack lives with his girlfriend and their dog and he has an extensive list of hobbies including golf, paddle boarding and travelling around in his VW Campervan.
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Jason Lord
Area Sales Manager - Cheshire & Merseyside
jason@ggmgroup.com
07957 308376
Jason’s role at GGM sees him looking after customers throughout Cheshire offering advice and product demonstrations to both new and existing customers. He thrives on building new relationships with customers and works to his own very high standards.
Jason immigrated to the UK in 2008 from South Africa where he started his career as a Horticultural Engineer and then moved on to manage his own garden machinery business before joining a ground care supplier as a Product Specialist, a position he held until joining the GGM team in 2018.
Jason, has extensive experience and in particular has extensive knowledge of the fine-turf market. There isn’t much he won’t be able to tell you!
Jason is married with 2 teenage boys who keep him very busy and ensure there is never a quiet moment.
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Ian Campbell
Area Sales Manager - Gtr Manc & Yorks
Ian’s role at GGM sees him looking after customers across Manchester, Cheshire and South Yorkshire offering advice and product demonstrations to both new and existing customers.
Ian has been in the industry since 1980 and completed a Craft Engineering Apprenticeship at Stockport College in 1984 during which time saw him working for Sisis Equipment. After this he then worked for a Ground care specialist supplier developing into UK Sales Manager. In 2019 Ian started his role with GGM to develop business and support customers throughout the region. He has extensive knowledge of sports turf maintenance, so if you’re looking for any advice on this, then Ian is your man.
Ian is married to Tracey with two boys and in his spare time is an avid Manchester United fan, enjoys playing golf, walking, travelling with his family and spending time at his caravan in North Wales.
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Rob Taylor
Area Sales Manager - Lancashire & W. Yorkshire
Rob is a well-known face throughout the area and has extensive experience in groundscare, including the Golf sector. His role at GGM sees him working alongside the rest of the team to develop the sales of the GGM product portfolio including Kubota, Baroness, Amazone, Dennis, SISIS and commercial robotic mowers throughout West Yorkshire and Lancashire.
On leaving school Rob studies an NVQ Level 2 & 3 in Sports Turf which set him off on the path of a Greenkeeper, a position he held for 16 years. Since first joining GGM back in 2015 he uses his personal hands-on experience to help customers as he knows first-hand exactly what they want and need. Having spent many, many hours mowing grass, he knows what works!
Rob is married with 3 daughters who take up most of his time, however any spare time he does have he likes to go fishing.
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John Hayton
Sales Demonstrator & Installation
jonnie@ggmgroup.com
07973 454 012
John is our Demonstrator & Installer and looks after the safe delivery and installation of machinery which includes any required training to BAGMA standard. His knowledge across our full range of machinery is second to none.
Apart from a short break, John has worked for GGM since 2001 when he joined as a Senior Service Engineer and in 2008 took on the position of Workshop Foreman. His experience with the company is a huge asset and there’s not much in the world of mechanics that John doesn’t know about.
Qualifying in Agricultural Mechanics back in 1990, John has always had a keen interest in engines and general mechanics and in his spare time he keeps himself busy building and renovating old cars.
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Scott Grieve
Marketing Manager
scott@ggmgroup.com
01282 856813
Scott is the GGM Groundscare Marketing Manager and in his role manages our in-house marketing team and looks after all offline and online marketing activity.
Graduating with a 2:1 BA(Hons) Business Degree back in 2003 he embarked on his career in Marketing, starting with a leading national wholesaler. Since this his career has seen him working at an award-winning creative communications agency and a leading North West Packaging company before taking up his role at GGM back in 2014.
During his time with the company, Scott has implemented and managed the shift in our day to day marketing activity to focus on a digital content strategy encompassing website development, email marketing and social media whilst remaining attentive to our traditional offline activity including brochures, direct mail and events.
Scott is married with 2 young children and enjoys spending his spare time in his garden or at his caravan in Wales.
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Alex Hallissey
Digital Marketer
alex@ggmgroup.com
01282 860 444
Alex is our Digital Marketing Assistant here at GGM Groundscare and in his role he helps assist in all our online marketing activities for the company.
Graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University in Marketing Management back in 2019, he soon after joined a Creative agency based in Lancashire before coming to join the team here at GGM in 2021.
Alex has joined the company to assist in all aspects of our digital strategy, helping in our day – day social media strategies, email marketing campaigns, website development, copywriting needs and making sure we remain at the forefront of what Is possible In the social space.
Alex spends his free time with friends & family or attending games at his local club Burnley FC.
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Parts
Service
Mark Lewin
After Sales Manager
Mark is responsible for all our After-Sales functions across the business encompassing technical advice, service and parts.
Upon leaving school in 1993, Mark embarked on a Plant Fitter Maintenance apprenticeship at British Nuclear Fuels. Then in 1999 after a year travelling around Australia, he joined the company in the Horticultural workshop. After a short stint away where he worked for BT Openreach and he returned to the business as Wokshop Manager a few years later and has continued his development into his current role.
Mark’s day to Day responsibilities see him overseeing the running of both the service and parts departments and is the customer key point of contact for technical advice and support. He has been instrumental in implementing a number of new systems improving the efficiency of the after-sales teams and improving our overall level of customer service.
Mark is married with 2 children and in any spare time he has relaxes by going sailing or walking in the Lake District.
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Accounts
Training Academy
Gary Taylor
Lantra Training Instructor
Gary is a passionate Lantra qualified trainer with an infectious amount of enthusiasm who thrives on training others in operating land-based machinery safely and offers a powerful combination of experience and knowledge.
Whatever your land-based machinery training requirement Gary’s has over 20 years industry experience working with, training on and repairing these types of equipment in his previous roles.
He has excellent interpersonal skills allowing him to engage effectively with the trainees, focusing them and ensuring your team learn effectively during the course so they leave with skills they can use to work safely and efficiently.
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