Ray O鈥橰ourke will remain executive chairman.
With an 拢8.2bn order book and 拢4.3bn in managed revenues,聽Laing O'Rourke is one of the UK's big three construction groups, alongside Balfour Beatty and Carillion. It is also one of the biggest privately-owned companies in the country.
Ms Stewart, aged 48, joined Laing as a trainee in 1982. Subsequent to the 2001 acquisition by O鈥橰ourke, she was appointed group commercial director of Laing O鈥橰ourke in 2004 and group director of finance and commerce in March 2010.
Ray O鈥橰ourke said: 鈥淭he shareholders and the group board have ensured that in selecting Anna as the next chief executive we will achieve the seamless continuity of strategic approach we were seeking. Anna is the outstanding choice to lead the company because of her excellent track record in helping transform and grow our international presence; her intimate knowledge of Laing O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 culture and operations, her role in the development of the group鈥檚 strategy and her unquestionable passion for realising our future vision.
鈥淎nna鈥檚 appointment has the unanimous support of all the senior leaders across the business. I am confident that supported by the group board and executive committee, she will take the group to the next level of performance. I look forward to working with her to successfully deliver our innovative plans for engineering, Design for Manufacture and Assembly, asset optimisation, talent management and financial performance.
鈥淔ollowing a seamless handover of my chief executive duties to Anna, I will continue in the role of executive chairman, responsible for the leadership of the group board.鈥�
Ms Stewart said: 鈥淚 am very proud to have been asked by the shareholders and the group board to lead Laing O鈥橰ourke, having started my career with the company over 30 years ago. Laing O鈥橰ourke is a unique business with leading capabilities in all facets of engineering and construction; a talented leadership team; highly engaged workforce; and longstanding client relationships. I understand the obligations that come with the role and have committed to the shareholders to turn our highly compelling vision for the future into reality.鈥�
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