Simplifying Complexity. Delivering Safety.

Expo Technologies Global Leadership Team

Expo Technologies has an experienced and highly focused leadership team. Read more about the team here.

John Paul de Beer , Managing Director

His primary roles are to provide clarity of direction through the implementation of the company strategy, support the management team in creating an environment that enables success, and ensure Expo provides a balance of outcomes for all our stakeholders, in line with our values and vision.

JP joined Expo Technologies in 2005 as R&D Engineer, moving through various positions in the engineering function before becoming the Technical Director in 2009, after completing an MBA in technology management. In 2015 he was appointed to role of Managing Director where he oversaw the opening of our factory in Qingdao China and supported the start of the Pharma Engineering business in Cork, Ireland.

Having grown up in South Africa he completed his degree in mechanical engineering before relocating to the UK. He enjoys an outdoor lifestyle, such that the English weather will allow, and spends his weekends running on trails or patiently making his way around a local golf course.

Maria Bowes, Finance Director

Maria joined Expo Technologies as Finance Director in 2018, after a long career in finance, including the serviced office industry. During a spell at Reuters, she learned about the value of mentoring - something she has embraced with a passion at Expo, building a strong mentoring and development culture into the Finance team. Maria is a member of CIMA.

Since becoming FD, she has led the Finance function in implementing new automation tools, allowing them to work much more effectively, including the introduction of a global financial reporting system across the whole Expo Group.

When not working, Maria enjoys meeting friends & family for long walks with her dog, pottering around her garden, and attending live music events.

Anthony Darragh, Group Technical Director

Anthony joined Expo in 2022 as Technical Director. He has a career spanning several different industries including automotive, precision industrial, LED lighting and consumer goods. His process driven background has allowed him to help shape and grow organisations as well as develop and introduce new technologies.

He is a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. In his spare time Anthony enjoys activities with his two children which often involves cycling and always looks forward to an annual winter sports holiday for some snowboarding.

PJ Wilson, Global Operations Director

PJ joined Expo Technologies for the first time in 2012 as Operations Manager and stayed a little over 2 years before returning in 2022 as the Global Operations Director. PJ’s experience has covered Chemical Manufacturing, Electronic Defense, Aerospace, and Life Safety Products.

As Global Operations Director, PJ oversees Expo’s operational functions globally, and is responsible for ensuring synergies, efficiency and best practice are driven throughout the organization.

Born in South Africa, PJ studied Mechanical Engineering and Production Management before moving to the UK, where he has completed an MBA and is currently studying for an MSc. in International Corporate Finance.

PJ enjoys the outdoor lifestyle, including hiking, preferably in good weather.

Matt Dudones, Global Sales Director

Matt joined the Expo team in June of 1998 as an administrator tasked with organizing and developing the processes for the USA facility. From there he held positions from Office Manager to Vice President of Sales and Marketing before his current position of Global Sales Director. Matt oversaw the opening of our Twinsburg, Ohio manufacturing facility in 2008 where he works from today.

In his current role he oversees global sales and service teams. Matt has a degree in Business Marketing and as well as a technical degree in broadcasting. Matt is passionate about understanding the marketplace and creating value for the customers.

A lifelong resident of Ohio, Matt grew up in the Rubber Capital of the world Akron OH. When he is not at work Matt enjoys spending time with his family doing outdoors activities and enjoying the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Abby Qu, General Manager of Qingdao Expo M&E Technologies Co., Ltd.

Abby joined Qingdao Expo in 2017 as Assistant General Manager and moved into her new role as General Manager in 2020. Prior to joining Expo Technologies, Abby has over ten years’ working experience in multi-national companies including Alstom power division.

Abby is responsible for the overall management of Expo China factory established in Qingdao, China in 2015. Her main focus is to continuously improve the performance of Expo China Operations and deliver excellent quality product for the protection of equipment used in hazardous areas and industrial applications in APAC regions.

What she likes and try to be is summarized in three Chinese phrases:

君子不器，运行不息，随遇而安

Alex Rush, Production Manager

Alex joined Expo in 2012 as a mechanical fitter after completing a 3 year marine engineering cadetship in the oil & gas sector. In 2013 he joined the Service Team, and spent 4 years commisioning, troubleshooting, and repairing Expo equipment in the field across our global customer base.

Between 2017 and 2021 he moved through a variety of technical and production engineering roles, before being appointed as Production Manager.

When not spending time with his growing family, Alex is a social / fair weather cyclist, but has been known to take part in the London to Brighton charity ride.

Martha Carrillo, Certification Manager

Martha started at Expo Technologies in 2005 in an office administrator role. She moved into the Certification department a year later and since then has taken on several roles, including Quality Manager, before becoming Expo's Certification Director in 2014.

In her current role she also oversees Quality, Business Systems and IT, but her passion remains with the Certification and Consultancy work that she does. The most rewarding part of her team's work is clearly seeing their contribution to making our systems and clients' equipment safe for use, and how Expo continues to build a safer world.

Martha gained her Electronics Engineering degree from university in Bogota, Colombia in 1995. When she is not at Expo she enjoys spending time with her family, and has been a major contributor to Expo photography challenges over the years.

Rachel Clark-Raee, People Manager

Rachel joined Expo Technologies in 2011 as a temporary contractor to review and design the internal training program, before joining permanently to grow the HR function. This led to her current role of People Manager, which Rachel started in 2020.

As People Manager, she oversees the people strategy, using our values to create a world-class culture & workplace, and build strong teams.

Rachel studied History at University of Winchester. She then went on to earn her MSc in International Human Resource Management from Kingston University.

Outside of work, she enjoys reading science-fiction and fantasy and live music.

Sonia Patel, Business Insights Manager

Sonia is the Business Insight Manager at Expo Technologies. She joined the company as Sales Office Manager in February 2018, successfully building a strong internal sales team. She is also the chairperson for the Social Committee.

This is the first time Sonia has worked in manufacturing industry, as her experience has been mainly in wholesale and food industries since leaving university.

Her newly appointed role as a Business Insight Manager is to ensure company strategic projects are delivered successfully and to oversee the company’s IT systems.

When Sonia is not being a workaholic, she likes to be a little creative and has learnt how to crochet, make her own special occasional greeting cards and is always looking for something else to do to keep herself occupied.

Alan Wang, Engineering Manager

Prior to joining Expo Technologies, Alan had many years of experience in the automotive, military, and industrial sectors. He joined Expo in 2015 as a senior electronics engineer within the R&D team, subsequently becoming R&D Team Leader.

In 2019 he moved into his current role as Engineering Manager and is responsible for leading Project Engineering and Production Engineering teams to manage customer projects from design to manufacturing. His focus is on the continuous development of the capabilities of his teams and Expo's engineering working processes in order to meet, and exceed, our customers’ expectations.

He has a degree in Electronics Engineering from The University of Surrey, and is a currently studying part-time for an MSc in Engineering from Loughborough University.

Bjorn Maree, Global Operations Manager

Bjorn joined Expo Technologies in 2005 as an Electrical Assembly Technician, subsequently moving through varied roles including Spares and Repairs Engineer, Production Engineer, Production Controller and Manufacturing Manager prior to his current role.

In his current role he is responsible for aligning Operations outputs with company strategic objectives, facilitating growth, and driving efficiency throughout the Operations outputs.

Born and raised in South-Africa by Dutch parents, Bjorn completed a degree in Electronic Engineering from the Technikon Pretoria prior to relocating to the UK.

Bjorn lived in the UK for 13 years and completed a postgraduate’s degree in Operations Management before relocating to the USA.

Bjorn enjoys spending time outdoors with his two sons , playing musical instruments and tinkering with motorcycles.

Steve Pilgrim, Marketing Manager

Steve joined Expo Technologies in 2016 as a Regional Sales Manager and moved into his current marketing role in 2019. Prior to joining Expo, Steve had a lengthy career in the world of industrial gases and chemicals, including a five year posting to the Asia Pacific region.

As Marketing Manager, he is responsible for developing and delivering the overall marketing strategy, to grow Expo’s profile in the hazardous area protection sector and help deliver long term sales growth.

He has a degree in Physics from Loughborough University and an MBA from Rutgers University in the US.

Outside of work, Steve is an occasional marathon runner and sometime classic motorcycle collector.