Avison Young turns to Gleeds again for boss to head up London PM team

Avison Young has brought in another former Gleeds staffer to be the managing director of its London project management business.

In the summer, the firm announced that Steve Mason had arrived, also from Gleeds, to head up its project management business in the capital, with the business saying his appointment was part of a plan to beef up its workloads in the sector.

Avison Young said Sam Orwin has now been appointed managing director of its London project management arm with Mason moving into a new role as managing director of its London building and project consultancy business.

Avison Young said Mason’s role was to “oversee the growth of the wider consultancy, while supporting Orwin and the project management leadership team”.

Graham Fairhurst, principal and managing director, building and project consultancy at Avison Young, added: “Steve’s move into his new role underlines our strategic focus on expanding our consultancy offering, and his continued involvement with the project management team will be invaluable as we integrate Sam into his new position. This appointment reflects our commitment to the project management service line, in delivering a more integrated and collaborative offering for our clients.”

Orwin, who has previously worked as head of new build at real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield and before that 12 years as a project director at Lendlease, has spent the past two years at Gleeds as head of its London project management arm.

Mason, one of the founders of Mace’s cost consulting business, joined Gleeds as executive director of its London business in early 2022 after 24 years at Mace.

But he left last November under a restructure which saw several big names go, including the executive chair of its UK business Douglas McCormick.

Earlier this year, Gleeds poached two project management experts from Avison Young to beef up its project management team in London.

Avison Young principals Craig Ward and Andrew Todman joined as directors having spent more than 12 years between them at Avison Young and before that Second London Wall Project Management.