Cathal O鈥橰ourke, son of chief executive and majority owner Ray O鈥橰ourke, will take over as chief operating officer of Laing O鈥橰ourke on 1st April.
He will also become the latest in a long line of people considered to be the company鈥檚 chief-in-waiting.
The COO role has been newly created for him to assist the group share learning and best practice across the company鈥檚 international operations.
In January 2022 Laing O鈥橰ourke appointed Seamus French, an executive with mining company Anglo-American, as CEO-designate. But inOctober Ray O鈥橰ourke said that he was not going to hand over his business to French after all and would himself remain CEO for at least another two financial years, taking him until April 2024, by which time he will be 77 years old.
The appointment of Seamus French was seen as a precursor to a stock market flotation. His departure was seen as a deferral (at the very least) of any such plans.
Cathal O鈥橰ourke has not been widely seen as the obvious heir apparent within the organisation, not least, it is said, because he was settled in Australia. However, he stepped down as managing director of the Australian business last year to take parental leave, after eight and a half years leading the hub and as a member of the group executive.
In a statement today, Laing O鈥橰ourke credited 聽Cathal O鈥橰ourke with transitioning the business from a largely oil and gas resources focus to securing a broad pipeline of public infrastructure and defence work. He was president of the Australian Constructors鈥� Association (ACA) and has been seen as instrumental in industry moves to more collaborative contracting, including early engagement models and performance incentives.
Cathal O鈥橰ourke said: 鈥淚 am excited to be returning to work from our Europe Hub where it all started for me as a young engineer.
鈥淚 got the opportunity to go to Australia 13 years ago, thinking I would only be away for a short time. I鈥檓 keen to reconnect with those I know from back then, while getting to know the great people who鈥檝e joined since.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to driving our unique culture 鈥� by putting our people and their diverse experiences at the heart of our offering to clients 鈥� enabled by our advanced technical capability.
鈥淢y partner and I will be returning to the UK with our nine-month-old daughter. This new group leadership role, and being closer to family, makes it an exciting time both professionally and personally.鈥�
Laing O鈥橰ourke Group chair Sir John Parker said: 鈥淚 am delighted that Cathal will take up the new position of group chief operating officer. He will work alongside his father Ray, as well as Des O鈥橰ourke and the group and hub executive committees, to focus on performance and culture as we enter the next stage of our Deliver 2025 strategic plan.鈥�
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