George Panks

Chief Operating Officer

BA (Hons) Design

With over a decade of experience in the design and consultancy sector, George’s expertise spans commercial, educational, workplace, and heritage projects across the UK and internationally. He provides strategic direction to clients and leads MYA’s delivery of authoritative guidance across complex briefs. George is adept at integrating digital innovation, smart systems, and data-driven decision-making into both the creative and operational aspects of project delivery.

George is valued for seeing the big picture without losing sight of detail. He guides teams and clients through every stage of the RIBA design process, ensuring projects are delivered efficiently, on time, and to the highest standards. His approach blends visionary storytelling with robust technical integration, creating spaces that are functional, resilient, and future-ready.

A graduate of the Arts University, Bournemouth (BA Hons Design), George grounds every project in a deep understanding of the client’s ambition, culture, and audience. As Chief Operating Officer, he drives strategic alignment across MYA’s creative and consultancy teams, championing collaboration, efficiency, and a culture of continuous improvement.

Outside of work, George runs the Cotswold Food Bloggers site, bringing together photography, videography, writing, and illustration to capture food stories with creativity and flair.

  • We recently worked with the team at MYA on a bid for a tender for multiple catering sites. Their proactive, innovative and dynamic approach to the task was a breath of fresh air, and we were able to work systematically through a complex set of designs with an abundance of creativity and design options to consider. Throughout the whole process, the team at MYA were fully engaged and, above all, great fun to work with. I will definitely be working with the team again on future projects and would highly recommend them as design consultants.

    Steven Braithwaite, Managing Director, Somerset Larder

  • We recently had the pleasure of collaborating with MYA on the City of London School for Girls project at the Barbican, London. One of the standout aspects of MYA’s involvement was their swift, detailed, and highly effective coordination of design elements. MYA’s proactive approach, attention to detail, and dedication to achieving design harmony made them an invaluable partner in this project. Their ability to strategically align diverse design aspects contributed significantly to the success of the collaboration, reinforcing the importance of well-integrated teamwork in delivering high-quality solutions.

    Simon Spiteri, Director/Architect, Cowan Architects

  • The team, led by Carla McKenzie, were meticulous in every detail. They modelled the cleaning requirements to deliver the optimum solution for the facilities across EMEA, and really took time to understand the culture of our business. I have no hesitation in recommending MYA and its team – they are dedicated and innovative, and always go the extra mile.

    Natalia Ros Vargas, Office Team Leader, Booking.com

  • Carla and her team have broad experience in the industry. Apart from being very supportive in inventing (new) concepts, they also make use of their many years of experience when implementing these concepts. Their ultimate goal is to let people enjoy honest and good food.

    Marcel Bisselink, Owner, Daily Fresh Food, Galeen, Netherlands

  • Carla and her team worked tirelessly with us to ensure our very international and cross-cultural needs were met with great creativity and skill. They listened to us, responded to our needs and delivered above expectations.

    Angela Hencher, Director of Business Administration, Dulwich College, Shanghai Pudong

  • They are brave enough to challenge others in pursuit of the ultimate solution, whether it be behind the scenes with kitchen flow and catering management, or front-of-house service and design.

    Richard Russell, Catering Equipment Distributor Director, Western Blueprint

  • If all companies who serve the independent school sector had your breadth of vision and openness of mind, I have little doubt that the sector would be a richer and more exciting place to be.

    Phillip Godfrey, Bursar, Halliford School

  • During the negotiation process, Carla’s knowledge and expertise enabled our company to achieve a very strong commercial outcome, and some significant savings were yielded from the exercise.

    Penny Arnold, Commercial & Operations Director, Fusion Lifestyle