QS Young Achiever of the Year

Winner

Suzanne Graham, Turner & Townsend
Just one week’s work experience in construction was all it took for confirm to Suzanne Graham that a career in quantity surveying was the path for her. After she left school, entering the industry seemed like the natural thing to do.

Suzanne joined Turner & Townsend in 2000 as part of their training programme and now, at just 28, she is one of the youngest and most talented associate directors at the company. In addition to heading major construction projects, such as the Network Rail’s £150m Waverley Station project in Edinburgh and co-ordinating HR issues in five regional offices, she takes time to support junior members of staff by reviewing APC submissions and conducting mock interviews. Colleagues speak of her as an “instrumental” part of the company and clients praise her “first class” knowledge.

She is also involved in the construction community outside the company – she chairs the RICS Matrics West of Scotland branch, where she organised social, networking and mentoring events.

Runners-up

Nitin Boodhun, EC Harris
Nitin Boodhun began his career in the Mauritius, working leisure, retail and transport project. Since joining EC Harris in 2005, he has stood out for his proactive approach, moving from cost management to consultancy work in July 2007. Recently he has worked on major construction projects, such as Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and a £215m development in Chester Town Centre. He has also been working part-time towards an MBA in construction and real estate at the University of Reading for the past three years.

Paul O Connor, John Rowan & Partners
Paul O Connor was taken on by John Rowan & Partners when at age 19, just after completing his GNVQ, after he wrote to the company asking for a job. Although there were no official vacancies at the time, chairman Tim Young was impressed and asked him to come in for a chat. In the nine years since then, Paul has been integral to the workings of John Rowan and has since obtained a senior quantity surveying role at the company.

He has successfully delivered a Decent Homes contract with a housing firm and, despite struggling at school, is now heading towards graduating with a Masters in project management and becoming a chartered surveyor within the next year.

Young says he is a strong asset to the business and a great personality to have around the office.

Richard Russell, Northcroft
Richard Russell joined Northcroft in 2001 and has since rapidly progressed towards the role of associate director of the project management division, which he holds at the tender age of 28. He now has six members of staff reporting to him and has expanded his technical expertise by worked with high-profile clients such as IBM, Deutsche Bank and Network Rail.

His colleagues value Richard’s social skills, which they say make him an approachable team member who creates an excellent working environment.

Chris Scoffield, Turner & Townsend
Chris Scoffield had his first taste of construction when doing work experience with Sheffield council aged 15. From this time his ambition has been to reach senior levels of management within the industry, and he is well on the way to achieving this. Now 25, Chris has secured a number of projects for Turner & Townsend while working at its Leeds office, with a value of over £60m. Clients praise Chris’ “innovative approach to cost monitoring”, while company partner Nick Townsend commends not only his technical ability, but also his drive and enthusiasm.

Chris has also proved his versatility when spending four months at Turner & Townsend Amsterdam where he oversaw a number of fit-out projects in Munich, Paris, Luxembourg and Frankfurt.

Outside of the company, Chris acts as a mentor to new graduates.