The Institute of Roofing (IoR) has awarded Mark Harris as a Fellow in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the industry.
Mark has been working in roofing for 36 years and has been head of technical and operations for Radmat Building Products since 2012.
He began his career in sales support for IMI Broderick Structures single-ply flat roofing division and has since honed his skills through a variety of roles, gaining extensive technical, training and marketing expertise.
In 1997, Mark joined Sarnafil as product manager and after the business was acquired by Sika, became head of marketing for its roofing divisions in 2006. In 2010, a move to a Blackdown Greenroofs, a specialist green roofing company followed, where he was appointed a director of the business.
Throughout his career, Mark’s passion for learning and development has seen him play an active role in trade associations and industry bodies. He joined the IoR in 1998 and in the same year, was appointed chair of the Single Ply Roofing Association’s (SPRA) technical committee, becoming SPRA council chair for five years.
In 2008, he co-founded the Green Roof Organisation (GRO) and is now the board’s Secretary and technical committee chair. Mark also chairs the Joint Flat Roof Technical Committee at the National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC) and is on the board of the Liquid Roofing and Waterproofing Association (LRWA) while being a member of two of its sub-committees.
Additionally, applying his extensive knowledge and expertise, Mark has contributed to a vast range of industry documents, providing best practice advice and specialist technical guidance. He is actively involved with CEN (the European Committee for Standardisation), and the British Standards Institution (BSI), representing the roofing industry in the development of technical standards.
Speaking about his fellowship with the IoR, Mark said: “I am really pleased to have been recognised for my contribution to the industry and my commitment to making a difference. I got involved in trade associations as I recognised the opportunity to glean knowledge from experienced people in the industry. In more recent years, my involvement has given me the chance to give something back by passing on my expertise and helping others.
“As an industry, there is still more to be done in terms of raising standards and demonstrating competency, but we are gaining traction now with engagement from a much wider audience who want to make positive changes. I am proud to have been a part of that and to have helped shape and improve industry standards and guidance.”
Kay Rose, CEO of the IoR, added: “Mark is renowned as one of the most experienced and knowledge professionals in the roofing industry. For more than three decades, he has been working with others to continuously raise standards, bolster his expertise and share his insights, going above and beyond in every role he has held. It is for that reason that his fellowship was unanimously approved by the IoR board.
“On behalf of the IoR, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mark for this achievement and thank him for the positive impact he has had on our industry.”
