Ex-Polestar product chief says construction has much to learn from automotive
Laing O’Rourke has appointed electric car engineer Chetan Kotur as its new head of technology and innovation in Europe.
Kotur, who in 2018 was named young engineer of the year by the Royal Academy of Engineering, most recently worked as head of products for the Asia Pacific region at Polestar, an electric performance car brand owned by Volvo.
He begins work at Laing O’Rourke today (Monday), working alongside his predecessor, Dr Chris Millar, in a phased handover of the technology and innovation team.
Laing O’Rourke’s Europe hub, which includes the UK, Canada and the Middle East, posted revenue of £1.8bn in its most recent results.
Kotur said he was “inspired” by the firm’s vision for construction and its “desire to apply learnings from other sectors”.
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“I believe there is great opportunity to harness new technology and innovations to make advanced manufacturing the norm in construction, and by doing so boost productivity, enable greener building and make a career in construction more attractive to a wider group of people,” he said.
Ray O’Rourke, who recently announced he would remain chief executive for a further two years, said he was “convinced” the construction sector could learn “a great deal” from the automotive industry and said he was “excited Chetan shares our vision”.
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