Former trainee engineer to become Kier’s chief people officer

Kier is replacing its outgoing chief people officer with the current boss of its clients and markets business.

Helen Redfern is leaving the role in early March after a decade at the firm to take up a chief people, sustainability and communications officer post in the automotive sector.

She is being replaced by Louisa Finlay, who has spent over 30 years at the group since joining as a trainee engineer.

Prior to becoming its client and markets managing director, she was boss of Kier’s Southern construction business. Finlay, who joined the business in 1988 as a site engineer and will take a seat on the group’s executive committee, is also the firm’s lead on environmental and social sustainability.

Kier chief executive Andrew Davies said: “Helen has driven forward a progressive people agenda and has been an integral part of our leadership team. I wish her every success in the future.

“Louisa’s wealth of experience in Kier and the wider construction sector, as well as her commitment to building excellence across all aspects of the people, health, safety, wellbeing and sustainability agendas, mean she is well-placed to our lead people function and drive progress across these vital strategic areas.”

Meanwhile, the firm, which earlier this month won a £65m scheme to build a Passivhaus High School in Edinburgh, has said Andrew Bradshaw, the managing director of its utilities business, will oversee the firm’s commercial function after group commercial director Stuart Togwell was moved to replaced Liam Cummins as construction group boss. Cummins left last month to become the new chief executive of Italian cladding firm Permasteelisa.

Bradshaw is not a like-for-like replacement for Togwell, Kier added, but is being asked to oversee commercial across the group.