Van Elle chief executive Jon Fenton gave notice of his departure to the board in November, due to a family medical matter. Mark Cutler will join the Van Elle board and succeed Jon Fenton no later than October 2018 – or earlier if agreement can be reached with Balfour Beatty.
Mark Cutler was previously managing director of Balfour Beatty’s UK regional construction and engineering businesses until moving across in January 2017 to become managing director of the Balfour Beatty Vinci joint venture on the High Speed 2 project.
From 2010 to 2014 he was chief executive at Barhale Construction, which he had joined from Morgan Est, where he was managing director. His early career (1990-2006) was with Tarmac/Carillion.
Until Mark Cutler takes over, Van Elle has engaged Steve Prendergast, 62, as acting CEO. Mr Prendergast has been undertaking similar interim management roles for the last 13 years at companies including ISG, Balfour Beatty, Amey and Network Rail. He has previously held executive roles at Costain and Amec.
Van Elle chairman Adrian Barden said: “We wish Jon and his family well for the future, and thank him for his contribution to the company over the past eight years, including the successful IPO in 2016.
"We are delighted that Mark is joining Van Elle. He is highly regarded across the industry and will be bringing with him a wealth of valuable experience across all our major sectors, especially in rail and housing where we have many opportunities to build on our already strong market positions. Ensuring a smooth leadership transition process has been a key focus of the board and we are pleased that Steve will be able to step in to support the management team over the next few months.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
