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In profile: TheStadiumBusiness Awards nominee Guy Wickett

As the countdown continues to this year’s TheStadiumBusiness Summit at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester, we catch up with Guy Wickett, director at EnTodo Project Management and a consulting development manager at Premier League club Crystal Palace.

Wickett has been nominated in the Unsung Hero category at this year’s TheStadiumBusiness Awards, which will take place on November 30 and December 1.

Alongside him in the category are Danielle Snyder, senior vice-president of guest services and security at STAPLES Center; Lesley Spuhler, chief executive of Sunderland AFC’s Foundation of Light; Gary Storrie, health and safety manager at Formula 1; James Tagg, executive head chef at Manchester United; and Jackie Ventura, director of facility health and hygiene at the Golden State Warriors.

Wickett has been nominated for his involvement with the Crystal Palace academy project, which was recently completed. The £20m (€23.8m/$26.9m) academy was opened on October 28 by England manager and former Palace player Gareth Southgate.

The new state-of-the-art facility was completed in 19 months despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. EnTodo was engaged as consulting project managers and the company has worked with Palace on both the academy and the planned expansion of Selhurst Park.

“I was delighted to be nominated for the Unsung Hero award,” says Wickett. “Many in the industry will recognise the enormous amount of team effort that is required on construction projects and how it feels when you stand back together and look at the end result.

“I am extremely proud of what we achieved for the Crystal Palace academy and to be singled out for an award is the icing on the cake.”

Wickett set up EnTodo in 2016, recognising that there was an opportunity in the marketplace for providing clients with a focused project management service.

Working closely with businesses and understanding their core values and specific building portfolio allowed the company to tailor its services and manage precise construction developments through setting briefs, concept design development, planning applications, team and contractor procurement and on-site construction management.

Wickett has over 35 years of experience in the construction industry and started as a site engineer for Wimpey Construction. He later moved into construction management and spent 10 years working for Tesco Stores Ltd, managing new stores and mezzanine development.

“The experience I gained in working client side taught me the importance of ownership and driving projects to achieve the best results for all, implementing clever processes and being innovative to get results, not just ticking boxes to protect your PI but setting goals and achieving them,” says Wickett.

EnTodo has also worked with Championship club Fulham and a small number of exclusive clients, with Wickett conscious of maintaining a “small, bespoke but achievable service”.

Click here for the full list of nominees at this year’s TheStadiumBusiness Awards.