Interviews

The former BPF chief is taking a leading role on the £10bn regeneration scheme in west London, and speaks to CN about the opportunities and challenges presented by the ’Canary Wharf of the West’.

Liz Peace is under no illusion she has a big task on her hands. The veteran lobbyist…

Defence Infrastructure Organisation chief executive Graham Dalton talks to CN about how the client wants to become easier to work with and what it wants from new contractors.

Defence infrastructure is “one of the better-kept secrets” among construction’s various sectors, Graham Dalton says. One might expect the chief executive of the…

Murphy’s boss has set the company a target of winning one in every three projects it bids for as part of a drive to treble turnover by 2025.

Chief executive Steve Hollingshead said at a group level he had seen “major improvements” in its bid success rate since he joined, but…

Industry expert Mark Farmer warned last year that the sector is facing a “ticking timebomb”.  

In his government-commissioned report Modernise or Die, Mr Farmer claimed that unless the industry and government did more to tackle key problems – such as an ageing workforce, lack of new entrants and failure to…

FK Group chief Francis Keenan talks exclusively to Construction News about ‘sexy sheds’, European competition, doubling turnover and technological trailblazing.

“Reputation is everything,” Francis Keenan tells me – a sentiment that, for FK Group, is far more than just a soundbite. Having taken over as chief executive two years ago, Mr…

Being nice in a cutthroat industry like construction can lead to disaster. But Jonathan Seddon says getting his company’s ethos right has been just as important as making money in the years following its restructure.

Halfway through my conversation with Jonathan Seddon, I ask whether his approach to business can sometimes be…

The construction giant’s global rail sector lead on her remarkable engineering journey and why the tide may finally be turning for industry equality.

“Only eight out of 53 in High Speed 2’s construction directorate are women; in Network Rail’s Infrastructure Projects division, only five out of 88 are women.” Bechtel’s Ailie MacAdam…

Exclusive: Despite a first loss in 15 years as Laing O’Rourke, its founder and CEO is far from down and out. In a rare interview, Ray O’Rourke reveals to Construction News his long-term vision for the industry and why the time is right to pave the way for his successor.

On the…

Engineering specialist Spie has evolved from a specialist to a main contractor in just five years. CEO James Thoden van Velzen tells Construction News how the firm did it.

When is a subcontractor not a subcontractor? The construction industry’s current structure dictates that main contractors are the ones that win the…

In her first full interview since taking over the industry training board, Sarah Beale reveals her vision for the CITB and why she believes it must be retained.

Less than three weeks into her tenure as interim chief executive of the CITB – which she has confirmed will last until at…