Traditionally, big job changes happen in the new year. But several major firms have not waited to make appointments.
The final trading days of 2024 have seen some significant board appointments as well as the arrival of a former senior civil servant at National Highways.
Permission to land
Sylvia Metayer
Mace has bolstered its board to support UK and international expansion.
Former Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye and Sodexo’s former chief growth officer Sylvia Metayer have been appointed as non-executive directors on Mace’s group board. Holland-Kaye spent 14 years at Heathrow in various roles. Before that, he was a divisional chief executive at Taylor Wimpey. Metayer currently sits on the boards of Groupe des Aéroports de Paris and Keolis.
Dame Alison Nimmo DBE, previously chief executive of the Crown Estate, is joining the board in the new year. Until July this year, Nimmo was a non-executive director at the Department for Levelling Up.
McLaren’s new driver
l-r: David Faulkner, Andrew Beaumont and Richard Harding
McLaren Construction has appointed Andrew Beaumont to help drive its growth across the North of England.
Beaumont will be managing director of a new Yorkshire and North East division. He joins from ISG, where he worked for 14 years, latterly as regional director.
Also coming on board from ISG is new regional commercial director David Faulkner, while regional preconstruction director Richard Harding joins from Morgan Sindall.
National express
An accountancy expert and former local government mandarin is joining the board at National Highways.
From January, Rob Whiteman will be non-executive director and chair of National Highways’ audit and risk committee. He replaces Kathryn Cearns who has stood down.
He joins from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), where he was chief executive. Whiteman’s previous roles include chief executive of the UK Border Agency and he is also chair of University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.
National Highways chair Sir Gareth Rhys Williams said: “He will bring valuable insight from across the public sector, national and local government, and he will bring a good understanding of our operating context.”
Moving homes
Housebuilder Gleeson Homes has recruited Janet Stirzaker as land director for the Midlands. She joins from Keepmoat Homes where she had the same role covering the East Midlands.
