More Interviews – Page 29
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FeaturesFrom Birmingham to Basra
One minute he was a QS in Birmingham, the next he was dodging Scuds in Iraq. Territorial Army lance corporal Craig Barker spoke to us about food rations, Saddam's yacht and keeping cool.
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FeaturesA run for his money
Nick Brooke likes a challenge – the serial marathon runner once ran a record-breaking 127 miles in 24 hours. Well, as RICS president he’ll need all his puff to pacify the institution’s members. He tells us about the need for increased subscription fees and going global.
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FeaturesComeback kid?
Down Kenneth Clarke may be, out he certainly isn't. The man who claims to have invented PFI is on bullish form and ready to take on contractors, civil servants, bankers – oh, and the Labour government, of course, for messing up his big idea.
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FeaturesDavid Pretty
Barratt is Britain's best known housebuilder – but not always for the right reasons. Here its new chief executive tells us how he intends to preserve the firm's legacy, and silence some of its critics.
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FeaturesKeith Hill
Only a month into the job and the housing minister has absorbed the government's line about having a 'vision' for urban regeneration. But when it comes to expounding the finer policy points, he seems less sure of himself.
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FeaturesDavid Ridley
He's almost 60 and he's spent 30 years turning Faithful & Gould from a local into a global firm, so you might think he'd be ready to take on something really difficult. And you'd not be wrong …
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FeaturesDermot Gleeson
The chairman of MJ Gleeson may look like he's sitting pretty as he takes over the hot seat at the Major Contractors Group. But the question everybody's asking is, can he stop its members from leaving?
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FeaturesHow low can he go?
Famed for an audacious, but failed, bid for Tay Homes, Country & Metropolitan boss Stephen Wicks had better luck with his acquisition of NorthCountry Homes. Now he's championing rock-bottom sale prices and planning his next buy. Josephine Smit met him.
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FeaturesThe leveller
Julie Mellor, chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission, has construction's lousy record of recruiting women in her sights. But she's not out to give the industry a bashing: she has more subtle ways of making it see sense
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FeaturesParty animal
Dawn Gibbins' blend of knife-throwing, feng shui, democracy and belly dancing certainly makes a new contribution to modern management theory. But how did it win her businesswoman of the year?
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FeaturesDavid Miliband
The schools standards minister comes across as a sixth-form debating champion – but can he convince regional contractors to play a leading role in his plan to revamp the UK's secondary schools?
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FeaturesDavid Langdon & Everest's Rob Smith
Davis Langdon & Everest’s new boss tells us about his plans for the QS in the chilly days to come. Nothing drastic – just a complete change of culture and business strategy …
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FeaturesBridging Tactics
As the designer of military bridges used in the Iraq war, Tom Foulkes took pride in last month's victory. But will the head of the Institution of Civil Engineers win an internal battle for change?
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FeaturesHolliday homes
David Holliday, managing director of Kent-based Ward Homes, has found his place in the sun. With huge housing growth predicted in the Thames Gateway, he couldn't be in a better position. But he won't be resting on his laurels – as we found out, he's flat out keeping up with ...
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FeaturesIf we can make it there …
With Murray Grove, Cartwright Pickard established itself as the practice that could turn modular technology into architecture. Now that the Americans want it to do the same for them, the practice is poised to realise some of its ambitions. And boy is it ambitious …
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FeaturesBlazing a trail
Ballal Raza is a down-to-earth Brummie project manager with bags of confidence and plenty of commitment – and the industry needs to recruit thousands more just like him. We met a young Asian professional taking construction's image issues in his stride.
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FeaturesDavid Gann
The head of Imperial College's innovation studies centre has spent years gently taking the fear factor out of innovation. Now, says Josephine Smit, it looks as if a conservative construction industry has finally plucked up the courage to trust him.
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FeaturesDo you know this man?
The enigmatic John McDonough has given his first interview since taking over at Carillion two years ago, and in it he tells Tom Broughton how he's turned the contractor into a lean, PFI-powered speedboat.
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FeaturesMiller's tale
Tim Hough, Miller Homes' new managing director, plans to expand into the South-east and build on the company's reputation for quality and care. But is it the firm's results that are giving him the best reason to be cheerful?