Board numbers swell at North East construction industry body

The North East partner to Constructing Excellence, the organisation that drives change in construction, housing and regeneration, has welcomed three new members to its board.

Constructing Excellence in the North East (CENE) has added three industry leaders in construction, architecture and infrastructure to its already 12-strong board.

The board currently consists of a range of high profile figures including John McGovern, head of Investment Delivery at Northumbria Water; John Nielsen, director at CK21 Consultants LLP and chair of the Construction Industry Council North East and Regional BIM Hub and Ken Parkin, managing director at Turney Wylde Construction and member of the Northern Counties Builders Federation Executive Committee.

John Davies, managing director for Esh Construction; Tim Bailey, partner and architect for Xsite Architecture; and Darren Laybourn, director for Turner & Townsend will join the board with immediate effect.

John McGovern, chair of the CENE board, said: “We are delighted John, Darren and Tim have decided to come onto the North East board and we look forward to their support during 2014 onwards. They are all leaders in their field and will collectively bring a wealth of expertise to the board.”

In his current role as managing director for Esh Construction, John manages all construction delivery, a £150m annual turnover division and around 800 employees.

Tim set up Xsite architecture based in Newcastle’s Ouseburn Valley in November 2000. The practice has recently been responsible for workspace projects like the Toffee Factory in Ouseburn, Boho One in Middlesbrough and The Palace Hub in Redcar.

Having worked in the North East construction industry for over 25 years, Darren has been working for Turner & Townsend for the past 11 years on their R&D and innovation programmes such as Building Information Modelling (BIM).

Catriona Lingwood, chief executive of CENE, said: “It’s a fascinating time for our industry which is experiencing a period of change where we need innovation and integrated working like never before to enable us to tackle the challenges we are going to face in the future.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →