He took over this month as new managing director of Interserve Engineering Services with a brief to expand and increase sales.
Knowles, who worked with Amec as a project director at terminal 5, became Spie Matthew Hall, managing director covering the central and north regions back in 2009.
He started out as an electrician in 1977 working for Balfour Kilpatrick and also had a spell at Crown House Technologies as north west operations manager.