Senior appointments in construction are made quietly and reported late. A Managing Director moves, a Commercial Director follows six months later, and the seats they leave are filled before the trade press prints the first name. This page is a running record of who is moving where at the top of UK construction and infrastructure, drawn from the community's movers round-ups and updated as the moves are made.
Senior Appointments in Construction
Who is moving where at the top of UK construction, and what it means for you.
Why the record matters
Every senior appointment tells you three things. Where a business is heading, because it has just hired for it. Where a seat has opened, because the person who held it has gone. And where the market is paying, because a move at this level rarely happens for the same money. Read together over a few months, the appointments below are the hiring plan of the sector, published a scheme at a time.
I run retained executive search for exactly these seats: Commercial Director, Managing Director, Project Director and Pre-Construction Director, across the sectors and the regions the moves below come from.
The record
7 October 2026
- Arvin Razon joins Armalytix as Head of Legal.
- Fredrik Thysenius joins Q-Free as Chief Technology Officer.
- Hawkins joins Uperio UK as Managing Director, arriving from Wolffkran.
- Kelly Harris joins A2Dominion as repairs director.
- Simon Gorski joins Stepnell as Director/Leader of Construction Arm, arriving from Lendlease.
- Lisa Garrett joins NVIDIA as Director, Infrastructure Engineering.
4 October 2026
- Jon Carroll joins Poettker Construction Company as EVP and chief innovation officer.
- Craig McDonnell joins PERI UK as Engineering Director.
- Ryan Hepple joins Meldrum as Head of Meldrum MEP Design.
- Vicky Nugus joins Galliford Try as Director, arriving from Kier.
- Natalie Dodds joins Leeds College of Building as Director of CTEC.
- Jørgen Ouaknine joins Apex Group as Global Head of Digital Markets Infrastructure and Wealth Distribution.
- Martin Quinn joins Stace as Head of Project Delivery, arriving from GPE.
- Terry Fitzmaurice joins Severfield as Chief Commercial Officer.
- Simon Gorski joins Stepnell as MD/Leader of construction arm, arriving from Lendlease.
2 October 2026
- Allen Gransch joins GFL as Chief Operating Officer.
- Rohan O'Grady joins Costain SCS JV as Managing Director.
- Andy Lewis joins RAIB as Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents.
- Simon Gorski joins Stepnell as MD of construction arm, arriving from Lendlease.
30 September 2026
- Andy Lewis joins Rail Accident Investigation Branch as Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents.
- Paul Smith joins Office of Rail and Road as Chief Executive Officer.
- Andy Lewis joins Office of Rail and Road as Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents.
- Linda Grabs joins Network Rail as Human Resources Director.
- Rohan O'Grady joins Skanska Costain STRABAG JV as director.
- Kirsty Spark joins Stonewater as Chief Financial Officer.
29 September 2026
- Umeshkumar Chhaya joins Diamond Power Infrastructure Limited as Director and Whole-time Director.
- Deepak Bharadwaj joins Cognizant as Director for Cloud and Infrastructure Services.
- Terry Fitzmaurice joins Severfield as Commercial Chief.
- Simon Gorski joins Stepnell as MD to lead construction arm, arriving from Lendlease.
- Emma Loxton joins Balfour as Head of Strategy.
28 September 2026
22 September 2026
- John Ieraci joins Vocus as Managing Director, Business & Digital Infrastructure.
- Martin Ewing joins McLaren Construction as Divisional Director.
- Mark Wolverson joins Willmott Dixon as Director, arriving from Wates.
- Iulian Ciobotaru joins CTP as Construction Director.
19 September 2026
- Philipp Kurek joins Bosch Engineering as Head of Rail Division.
- Heather Clayton joins BOXABL as Chief Accounting Officer.
- Mark Wolverson joins Willmott Dixon as North East delivery director.
- Simon Gorski joins Stepnell as Construction Growth Director/Senior Executive, arriving from Lendlease.
- David Muse joins Petards as Chief Technical Officer.
18 September 2026
- Mark Wolverson joins Willmott Dixon as Director to lead North East workload, arriving from Wates.
- Simon Gorski joins Stepnell as Managing Director, Construction Arm, arriving from Lendlease.
- Phil James joins AARC Professional Services as Route Director.
- Ian Tasker joins AtkinsRéalis as Director of Private Finance - Rail Business.
- Roger Forsdyke joins Wates as UK Operations Director, arriving from Willmott Dixon.
- Nick Corrigan joins Morgan Sindall as North East and Cumbria director.
- Nick Corrigan joins Morgan Sindall Construction as Area Director.
- Micah Einterz joins Kooner Fleet Management as Head of Strategy.
- Damien Chabas joins Light Rail Safety & Standards Board as Managing Director, arriving from KeolisAmey Metrolink.
- Damien Chabas joins Light Rail Safety & Standards Board as Managing Director of KeolisAmey Metrolink, arriving from KeolisAmey Metrolink.
- Katherine Mackintosh joins Robertson as Managing Director.
17 September 2026
- Darren Cook joins AECOM as Highways & Streets Sector Director, arriving from Arcadis. (source).
- Faye Bowser joins Siemens as Managing Director of Smart Infrastructure Buildings. (source).
- Evan Griffin joins J3 as Managing Director of Debt Advisory, arriving from Pluto Finance. (source).
- Mark Lambkin joins Caddick as Construction Director, arriving from Bowmer & Kirkland. (source).
- Darren Simpson joins BidX1 as UK Managing Director, arriving from Foxtons. (source).
- Nima Nicolas Aase joins Turner & Townsend as Regional Managing Director for Europe. (source).
15 September 2026
- Brian Cassell joins Stevens Construction as Chief Financial Officer.
- Nima Nicolas Aase joins Turner & Townsend as Managing Director for Europe.
- Jason Bradt joins Patriot Rail as Chief Operating Officer.
- Laurie Lovett joins Global Infrastructure Solutions Inc. (GISI) as Chief Administrative Officer.
- DD Dasgupta joins Equinix as Chief Marketing Officer.
- Christopher Larsson joins Vertical Data Inc. as Head of Infrastructure.
12 September 2026
- Seb Fossey joins Permasteelisa Group as Group Chief Executive, arriving from McGee.
- Simon Black joins Rimbal as Chief Commercial Officer.
- Christopher Larsson joins Vertical Data as Head of Infrastructure.
- Sagar Jyot Rupani joins Tivoli Construction Ltd as Independent Director.
By the time an award is public, the shortlist has moved
Every senior appointment changes a leadership team, and most leave a seat open behind them.
If a name here sits in your patch, or a vacated seat looks like your next step, it is worth a conversation this week rather than next month.
Reading the moves
A cluster of appointments at one business is a growth signal, and the seats beneath the new leader will change within a year. A Commercial Director or Operations Director moving to a competitor in the same region usually means a counter-offer was made and refused, and the seat is open now. A move from a contractor to the client side, or from Tier 1 to a specialist, is the pattern I write about most in the insights, because it is the one most senior people in construction are weighing.
Appointing, rather than reading about it?
The moves on this page are the ones the market has already made. The ones still to come are the searches I am running now. If you are appointing a Commercial Director, a Managing Director, a Project Director or a Pre-Construction Director, the brief, the assessment and the salary band for each are set out under roles.
01What counts as a senior appointment in construction?
A role that carries a P&L, a programme or a function: Chief Executive, Managing Director, Operations Director, Commercial Director, Project Director, Pre-Construction Director, Framework Director and the group board seats above them, at contractors, consultancies, developers and the client bodies delivering the UK's programmes.
02Where does the record come from?
From the Lechley Community's movers round-ups, published every few days from the trade press, company announcements and the moves the community's members report. This page prints the most recent round-ups; the community holds the full archive.
03How do I report a senior appointment?
Email scott@lechley.com with the name, the business, the role and the date, or post it in the community. Appointments are listed once they are public.
04Can you help fill the seat an appointment leaves open?
That is the work. A senior appointment at one business is usually a vacancy at another, and a retained search is how the vacated seat is filled with someone who is in post and not looking. The process is set out on the method page.
Start a conversation
Whether one of these moves has opened a seat in your business or you are weighing a move of your own, I would welcome the chance to talk. No hard sell, no obligation.
