Celebrating Team Growth & Success

Our talented team has been given a boost as two colleagues are promoted, and a new starter comes on board.

Elaine Lau and Max Shadforth secure well-deserved promotions to assistant planner and planner respectively, while newcomer Thomas Davolls joins as assistant planner.

“Being promoted to planner was a major goal since relocating from Australia,” says Max, who joined Hybrid just under a year ago. “It’s an incredible feeling to be recognised while also taking on more responsibility. I’m determined to continue building my knowledge of the UK planning system, particularly on the commercial property side, as I’ve really been enjoying my work with national retailers such as Joe & The Juice.”

Elaine adds: “This promotion is a huge encouragement early in my career and I’m delighted that my work’s been recognised. Since completing my Master’s and joining Hybrid in March 2025, I’ve learned so much and been fortunate to get involved in a wide range of projects. In my new role, I want to improve my project management skills, become more client-facing and generally gain more hands-on experience.”

A graduate of the University of Liverpool, Thomas has both planning and development experience, gained via an internship, consultancy and graduate roles.

“I’ve always been interested in how cities grow and change over time, and have been lucky enough to secure roles in different areas of the built environment that have helped broaden my understanding,” explains Tom. “When the opportunity to join Hybrid came up, I knew it would be a great place for me to grow my skills. I was inspired by the variety of projects and clients in Hybrid’s portfolio plus it was always a dream of mine to work in Central London so being based in London Bridge is amazing. I’m looking forward to developing my career here.”

Tom, Elaine and Max all now aspire towards RTPI Chartership, congratulations and welcome to the team!