Movers and shakers: Biggest construction and engineering appointments in March 2022

A round up of the biggest moves and appointments during March is below. To feature on next month’s appointments roundup email catherine.kennedy@emap.com

East West Railway Company appoints ex-HS2 director as chief executive

Former High Speed 2 (HS2) commercial director Beth West has been appointed chief executive of East West Railway Company (EWR Co).

Her previous positions include a four-and-a-half year stint as commercial director for HS2 between 2012 and 2017, during which she oversaw the procurement process for a number of high value contracts covering £900M of enabling works, £8.6bn of main civils works and the £350M engineering delivery partner for phase 1.

She joins after a period of consulting, having most recently been the regional south managing director at Balfour Beatty where she had responsibility for a wide array of civil engineering and building projects. She has a rich knowledge of the transport sector, strong commercial acumen, and a long track record in driving construction innovation. West has also been head of development for Landsec and spent nine years in several roles at Transport for London.

New executive director for Balfour

Balfour Beatty has appointed Louise Hardy as a non-executive director. Hardy has over 30 years of business and leadership experience in the construction and infrastructure industry.

A civil engineer by background, she has held a range of senior roles at London Underground, Bechtel, Laing O’Rourke and as infrastructure director responsible for the portfolio of projects for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Her most recent executive appointment was European project excellence director for Aecom where she was responsible for monitoring performance across a portfolio of 10,000 projects in 15 countries and eight businesses within Europe.

Mace targets growth in pharma with two senior hires

Mace has announced the appointment of directors Claire Sedgwick and Sandra Davies, strengthening Consult’s pharma expertise and targeting new growth in the sector.

Sedgwick will be leading Mace Consult’s pharma new business function and its growth strategy. A qualified civil engineer, she has a background in delivering complex and challenging projects with over 15 years’ experience in the highways, nuclear, power and pharma sectors, delivering successful outcomes for clients and growing market share.

Davies is a chartered chemical engineer with a wealth of experience in a variety of industries, including water, waste water, oil and gas and nuclear. She joins Mace from Jacobs, where she built a strong background in chemical process engineering.

Galliford Try appoints new environmental head

Galliford Try has appointed Carol Hardingham as its new head of environmental, a pivotal role in the delivery of the Group’s Sustainable Growth Strategy. In her new role, Hardingham will be charged with managing the Group’s environmental performance and continual assessment, management and control of environmental considerations across our activities in relation to the natural environment and local communities.

Hardingham, who is a chartered environmentalist and full member of IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment) joins from Skanska where she was sector sustainability manager, and has also previously worked for Costain.

Former Balfour construction MD joins Aggregate Industries

Willmott Dixon strengthens levelling up team

Willmott Dixon has strengthened its specialist team working to support local authority levelling up plans by appointing Trafford Housing Trust’s former head of delivery Katherine Kitchener as regional head of land and development in the North.

Kitchener will work with both public and private sector organisations to help accelerate town centre regeneration projects by leveraging funding, unlocking challenging sites and providing the extra capacity that can bring projects to site more quickly. She brings more than 15 years’ experience in residential sector development.

Mace appoints COO for its Consult business

Mace has announced the appointment of Richard Green, who will take on the newly created role of chief operating officer of its Consult business. In his new role, Green will take on leadership of consultancy practice groups, helping to grow the business’s capability and services to clients globally, in line with its 2026 Business Strategy. He will be responsible with driving innovation and identify areas of investment to maintain Consult’s market competitiveness.

Prior to joining Mace, Green was the managing director of the Corporate Centre of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, where he led on organisational change and supported business and service transformation in response to Covid-19. He has also held senior roles with Jacobs, Crossrail and the British Army, managing large teams to achieve successful project and programme outcomes.

Aecom appoints new ESG chief

Aecom has appointed Robert Spencer as global head of ESG Advisory Services. In his new role, Spencer will support the advancement of the firm’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, Sustainable Legacies, by continuing to develop and advance Aecom’s industry-leading ESG services and offerings to clients.

Spencer has been an integral member in devising and embedding corporate ESG strategies in a post-Covid-19 environment, providing ESG-focused business planning and green recovery. He has driven climate change and carbon performance change management programs in-house and for client organizations; aligning climate action and sustainable development with strategic planning.

Bam appoints head of Irish business

Royal Bam Group has appointed Alasdair Henderson to lead its Irish business. Henderson, a chartered civil engineer, has spent 26 years in Royal Bam Group and his new appointment as executive director of Bam Contractors is effective immediately.

His previous roles include divisional director of Bam Ritchies, people and culture director at Bam Nuttall, and most recently global director of HR business partnering in civil engineering.

Mott MacDonald strengthens digital advisory offering

Mott MacDonald has appointed Mark Enzer to its digital advisory business in an executive advisory role. The move will support the company’s growth in helping clients tackle complex challenges by harnessing the transformational impact of data and digital.

Enzer will further cement Mott MacDonald’s place as a leading and trusted digital advisor to infrastructure asset owners, especially in the context of addressing the macro challenges of climate change, net zero and social outcomes.

Civic Engineers promotion

Having spent more than three years as part of Civic Engineers’ Glasgow studio, Craig Turner has been promoted to associate director to help enable further growth of the company’s Scottish operations.

Turner initially joined the firm in September 2018 as a senior engineer before being promoted to associate 12 months later.

Network Rail strengthens team

Network Rail has appointed Robin Dobson as Group property director. Dobson joins Network Rail from Hammerson and brings extensive experience in all property asset classes across UK and Europe.

Mark Tarry has also been appointed supply chain operations director. Tarry is an inspirational and passionate individual with a unique set of skills and experience spanning 30 years across the rail industry. Starting his career under British Rail as a finance graduate, he subsequently qualified as a chartered accountant (fellow) under Railtrack.

Most recently, he was responsible for Business and Technical Services; a large service organisation along with the delivery of multifaceted technical services and highly complex national programmes to both Network Rail and the wider industry.

New CECA director

Lorraine Gregory has been appointed as the new regional director for the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) for the Midlands, succeeding Dawn Karakatsanis, who has held the post for four-and-a-half years.

Gregory, who has joined from the Construction Industry Training Board, said she had a tough act to follow but would build on the foundations that have been laid by Karakatsanis and the CECA Midlands Council.

SNC-Lavalin appoints nuclear boss

SNC-Lavalin is pleased to announce the appointment of Joe St. Julian, former principal vice-president and general manager at Bechtel, as the new president of nuclear.

St. Julian brings 30 years of senior leadership experience with a diverse background in construction, project controls, project management, strategic planning and commercial management in the nuclear sector in addition to the oil and gas, power, civil and government sectors.

Mineral Products Association expands team

The expansion of the Mineral Products Association (MPA)’s team of experts continues with the announcement of two new appointments.

Colin Mew, HM principal inspector, whose role includes chief inspector of quarries, will be joining MPA in a health & safety advisory role, focussing on helping to deliver MPA’s ‘Vision Zero’ strategy by 2025.

Meanwhile Joseph Hackett joins as public affairs executive, following several years working for various Members of Parliament in their Westminster offices. His policy interests have included infrastructure projects and the supply chain behind them. He will bring his experience as gatekeeper of the MPs’ inboxes to step up the volume of MPA’s Parliamentary engagement, including on All Party Parliamentary Groups.

Bouygues appoints new project director

Peter Sharpe has joined Bouygues UK as project director, starting work on Zone One of the innovative Pentre Awel development in Llanelli. Sharpe joins Bouygues UK from Laing O’Rourke and Balfour Beatty where he held senior project leader positions.

His new appointment sees him returning to Bouygues UK, following his role as project director for Pembrokeshire Learning College in 2016. He is now leading the build of the prestigious £87M Pentre Awel development which will bring together life science and business innovation, community healthcare and modern leisure facilities at the 83ac Delta Lakes site on the Llanelli coastline.

New EEH managing director

England’s Economic Heartland (EEH) has appointed a new managing director to lead delivery of ambitious plans for transport and connectivity infrastructure in the region. Naomi Green’s appointment comes as the sub-national transport body focuses on a three-year programme of work, including development and delivery of the region’s infrastructure priorities and establishing a pioneering ‘centre for excellence’ to bolster local authorities’ capacity to plan future schemes.

A former civil servant, Green has extensive Whitehall experience, leading policies and capital investment programmes to deliver better approaches to planning infrastructure and support economic growth. Working in both the Cities and Local Growth Unit and the Department for Transport (DfT), her roles have included: head of LEP policy and governance; head of cycling; and head of the DfT’s approach to housing growth policy.

Since joining EEH in September 2018 as head of technical programme, Green led the preparation and implementation of the regional transport strategy published last year. In August 2021 she became interim director following the departure of Martin Tugwell to Transport for the North.

Gleeds appoints new head of regeneration

Gleeds has appointed Natascha McIntyre-Hall as its new head of regeneration. McIntyre-Hall returns to the business after a stint as assistant director of strategic developments with Portsmouth City Council. There, she was responsible for driving a multi-billion-pound sustainable transformation agenda, seeking to put Portsmouth on the map as Britain’s premier waterfront city of innovation.

Formerly a director with Gleeds London, in her new role she will be responsible for working with both public and private sector clients to future-proof their regeneration programmes nationwide. Her unique approach to development will see her balancing client’s budgetary and environmental, social, and governance targets, with the long-term requirements of the communities in which they operate.

Marr grows international operations

Marr Contracting International (‘The Men From Marr’s’), has appointed Steve Ryder as general manager of its growing international operations. Based in Marr’s London Office, Ryder will assume responsibility for managing the business’ UK-based team in transitioning pipeline international projects from contract negotiation through to operational workstreams for delivery.

Ryder joins Marr after more than 30 years’ working predominantly across the petrochemical and thermal sectors. As a project manager, Ryder has successfully managed the delivery of multi-disciplined new build and retrofit projects at some of the UK’s biggest power stations including  Drax Power Station (North Yorkshire), the Lynemouth Power Station Biomass Conversion (Newcastle), the Ratcliffe Power Station Environment Upgrade Project (Nottinghamshire) and Eggborough Power Station (North Yorkshire).

Wood appoints new president

Wood has appointed Jennifer Richmond as executive president of strategy and development and the latest member of the executive leadership team.

In her new role, Richmond will assume executive responsibility for Wood’s growth through strategic planning, business development, mergers and acquisitions, and marketing and communications.

New hire for McGoff

McGoff Construction has appointed Brendan Caloe, from Bolton, to head up its Special Projects Division within the Group.

McGoff Group Special Projects delivery plans include luxury residential developments for the Group’s Joint Venture entities, including Altair Phase I in Altrincham and a new apartment scheme on Warwick Road in Old Trafford.  Brendan presides over the delivery of exciting projects on behalf of the Group’s related operational businesses, including the unique food and hotel complex Market 41 Urmston.

New chair for Perfect Circle

Property, construction, and infrastructure consultancy Perfect Circle has announced that director and sector specialist Richard Whitehead will return to the role of chair. Picking up the baton from fellow Perfect Circle senior management board representative, Duncan Green, Whitehead will be taking on the role throughout 2022, which marks the business’ sixth year and will see it grow to reach delivery of over £600M of public sector spend.

Set up in 2016 by sector-leading firms Pick Everard, Gleeds and Aecom, the consultancy delivers the broadest range of consultancy services available to the public sector via Scape Consultancy, a single source direct award framework that drives collaboration, efficiency, time, and cost savings.

RPS boosts team with new hires

Global professional services firm RPS has appointed Nicola Burley as a new director within its Project Management Division. With previous leading roles in both client and consulting environments, Burley joins RPS with nearly twenty years’ experience in the construction industry. Excited by the challenge to develop the existing project management team, she has moved from multi-professional consultancy Pick Everard, after over four years as project management director.

Burley’s new role will see her help expand the Birmingham team and raise its regional profile by generating growth in both the public and private sectors. This will involve strategic client development and progressing emerging sector opportunities. She will be crucial in supporting the business on key industry topics such as gender pay gaps and carbon footprint reduction on projects.

RPS has also appointed World Health Organization collaborative author Ryngan Pyper as its new health & social impact director. As a professional consultant for nearly twenty years, Pyper vast experience has seen him advise governments, international public health bodies, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on good practice for Health Impact Assessment.

Browne Jacobson expands team

Browne Jacobson has broadened its national construction and engineering offering with the appointment of construction partner Zoe Stollard into its Birmingham office. Stollard has particular expertise in the nuclear and renewable energy space and brings with her almost 20 years of experience in advising on non-contentious UK and overseas construction & infrastructure, property, and commercial related projects.

She is highly experienced in creating legal frameworks for complex deals and developments, including construction interfaces with funding, property / leasing issues, corporate restructures, and agreements with interested third parties / stakeholders. She previously headed up law firm Clarke Willmott’s nuclear sector, has worked with clients from across a diverse range of sectors including, energy & infrastructure, real estate development, banking & finance, retail & leisure and social housing. She is ranked as a ‘leading individual’ in legal directory, Legal 500.

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