Many many moons ago James had an early mid-life crisis and left the rat race of trekking around Britain opening stores for TK Maxx. He was frustrated at the awful contract cleaning companies he worked with and realised he could do things so much better! The rest is history. He’s not particularly good at relaxing but sometimes enjoys early morning mountain biking and planting trees.

Marie joined Vanguard initially to seal the deal when selling big juicy cleaning contracts. She then turned her fire on coaching her team to deliver amazing customer service and that remains her passion to this day. She used to like horse riding until she got thrown off so now she does tamer things like mountain biking and white water rafting.

The official longest serving member of the management team John has done most things for Vanguard at some point or other. He is known as the “fixer” and the knottier the problem the more he likes to resolve it. The rest of the time he’s a petrol head and like many proper Welshmen loves his rallying.

After 25 years of working in the public sector Neil fancied a go at the cut and thrust of the real world and has never looked back. His regular review meetings with clients keep our standards of service excellent and consistent. In his spare time he enjoys nothing better than trips to Chester Zoo with his young family and when they’re in bed you’ll find him watching horror films.

Mark is one of those people with customer service running through their veins! Who else could work in the customer service department of East Midlands airport? He is a very calm, organised but deceptively laid back area manager who likes to say “yes” to his customers before he’s even been asked the question. A keen family man who can usually be found spoiling his two daughters and his wife (in that order). When the ladies in his life give him spare time he enjoys computer games, Star Wars, cats and food.

He will often be seen auditing sites around the Midlands - with a keen eye for detail he makes sure standards remain extremely high and loves getting stuck in with his cleaners and leading from the front. Luke is another Shrewsbury Town supporter but in his saner moments takes himself off to the wilds of Scotland on holiday.

Although relatively new in her area manager role Mandy is one of those “home grown” people we are very proud of. She began working for us four years ago and we always knew she was destined for greatness! She has a friendly, supportive management style and having worked her way up the ranks isn’t afraid of rolling her sleeves up and showing us how it’s done! In her spare time she loves taking her VERY large St Bernard for long walks (using a bin bag for a poo bag) and also holidays, eating out and I’m afraid she’s another Shrewsbury town supporter.

Danny used to supervise a team of cleaners at a large national pharmaceutical factory but then the Vanguard beacon beckoned and he took to the road looking after our Wirral and North Wales sites. Few people know that in another life he was one pot away from a professional snooker player.

Before Liam saw the light and joined Vanguard he was involved in managing the facilities and cleaning of a large group of schools so his experience is right up our alley. In his spare time he likes nothing better than cutting and chopping logs up for his wood burner.

Gareth came to work for us having previously cleaned ambulances in Manchester so what this chap hasn’t cleaned isn’t worth talking about. When he isn’t organising his team of cleaners you will find him having a relaxing fish in his local lake.

Never has someone who talks so much been able to achieve so much in a day’s work! As operational support she keeps all our area managers on their toes and is as cool as a cucumber when under pressure. She loves shopping, walks and eating out – in that order.

After many years at the sharp end of primary school education Julie decided she wanted to do something a little calmer and not go home with a headache everyday caused by naughty kids! The sanctuary of the Vanguard office beckoned and Julie now makes sure everybody gets the stock they need when they need it. She likes keeping all sorts of weird and wonderful poultry in her back garden & a Muscovy duck called Hector!

Rach is coming up to the 10 year Mark working in our accounts department. She honed her skills working for Barclays Bank for 20 years and now she not only looks after our pounds but also our pennies. Rach is one of those rare people who never makes mistakes and you have to be up very early in the morning to catch her out! In her spare time you will find her doing Zumba and Clubacise (whatever that is).

Beth spent many years in the payroll department of a large accountants and now we benefit from her superb knowledge of all things payroll and tax code! She can often be heard patiently explaining holiday pay or tax codes to a confused member of staff! Few people know that she was actually a lifeguard in a Kentucky YMCA once upon a time.

Jason is another person who has been with Vanguard since the dawn of time. Last year he celebrated his 10 year anniversary with us so he is a familiar face across all our sites delivering amazing standards of window cleaning and other high level activities - fearless with heights he tells us he used to like climbing trees as a nipper. Nowadays in his spare time he puts his feet up outside his caravan in Aberwystwyth with a nice chilled Fosters.

Ken looks after our customers floors – someone has to do it – and Kens been the man for a good few years now. Whether its carpets or hard flooring Ken will have seen the problems all before and will work out how to fix it. When he isn’t behind the wheel of his carpet extractor machine he will be walking his German Shepherd called Mylo. Oh and he likes the very occasional cigar and brandy too.

Peter provides the vital maintenance services for our customers and ourselves alike. He’s multi-talented and there’s not much he can’t do when it comes to building and maintenance. He refurbished our new offices from scratch. Over the years he’s done many things from being a turkey inseminator to deer stalking to being a scout leader.