A former apprentice bricklayer is among those told ‘you’re hired’ in the latest round of career changes.
In a busy week for Bellway, the homebuilder announced James Griffin as its new group construction director. He will take control of quality and construction practice, having spent 17 years at the National House Building Council. Latterly, Griffin has worked as regional director of the council’s eastern region.
He surely has the knowledge for the role, having started in the industry as an apprentice bricklayer in 1999.
Elsewhere, at Robertson Construction Group, Nigel Brook is retiring from his position as executive operations director. The 48-year industry veteran has been at Robertson for almost six years. Prior to that, he spent eight years as executive director and two years as managing director for the north at Kier Group.
Consultancy
WSP has boosted its leadership team with three appointments – Astrid Berkman, Kirsten Oliver and Fiona O’Donnell – that it said will be “pivotal”.
Berkman (pictured left) joins as executive managing director for planning and advisory, having spent 10 years at Arcadis, where she focused on the rail sector.
Oliver is the new managing director for energy and used to work at Worley, and brings expertise in conventional and offshore energy, as well as asset management.
O’Donnell is now head of health, safety, environment and quality, and was previously at Jacobs, where she drove its global health and safety strategy. She will be based at WSP’s Naas office in Ireland.
Deputy UK chief executive Paul Reilly said: “All three will each bring invaluable expertise and leadership to our team, driving forward our purpose and contributing significantly to our success.”
Meanwhile, inspection firm Phenna Group has appointed David Buckley (pictured left) to the newly created position of managing director of geotechnical and environmental consultancy. Buckley said he was looking forward to working with divisional director Stuart Abbs, and praised the group he will lead as “a dynamic team of people who are industry experts”.
Influencers
Over at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Victor Olowe (pictured left) has been appointed as chair of its new Valuation Assurance Committee (VAC).
The VAC is a permanent subcommittee of the RICS Standards and Regulation Board (SRB), which will oversee the regulatory quality assurance framework.
SRB chair Nigel Clarke said: “Victor is well placed to steer the new committee in overseeing the regulatory quality assurance framework for RICS registered valuers and RICS regulated firms undertaking valuation services.”
At the Construction Equipment Association (CEA), market information manager Paul Lyons is moving on to become an independent consultant. Lyons said he was “looking forward to exploring new opportunities outside of the CEA, broadening my reach and impact within the industry”.
The Stone Federation has announced Adrian Attwood as its new president. An accredited conservator with more than 30 years’ experience in historic building conservation, Attwood has led restoration projects including the parliamentary estate.
As well as promoting products, he said “sustainability, ethical sourcing and carbon measurement are also top priorities for me”.
