Laing O'Rourke: The Gamechanger

This week we're going to do something a little different. We're going to pay tribute to a key industry figure. It was announced last week that Ray O'Rourke of Laing O'Rourke will step down as Chief Executive of the business he founded 50 years ago. He'll pass the reigns over to his son Cathal.  

The business was founded initially in 1977 as a concrete and formwork contractor. It had revenues of £3.6bn last year. The big change occurred when he acquired the failing Laing Construction business for the princely sum of £1. And Laing O'Rourke as we know it was born. 

It's been quite the journey for the 'pony boy' from County Mayo. His business delivers mega projects spanning infrastructure, healthcare, leisure and commercial sectors globally. They've been innovative using offsite construction methods, technology, underpinned by a belief in developing people and a direct labour force.

This man transformed a small subcontractor into a global construction powerhouse in his lifetime. 

Notable projects include:

-Canary Wharf

-Dubai Airport

-Heathrow Terminals 2 & 5

-Crossrail Bond street station

-Dubai skyscrapers

-Atlantis The Palm, Dubai

-Ascot Racecourse

-One Hyde Park

-London Gateway Port

-Darwin Convention Centre, Australia

Put simply, this is the wow stuff that makes people want to be civil engineers or enter the construction industry in the first place.  

Famed for his business acumen - he clearly gets it as far as the industry. Laing O'Rourke remains the largest privately owned UK construction business. 

He's been described as 'a true legend and an extremely humble leader whose every interaction was inspirational'. 

A passionate rugby fan O'Rourke apparently had rugby shirts in the boardroom over fine art. Apparently he took some of the values from Rugby into his management career - particularly teamwork, attention to detail, direct communication, collaboration and an incredible work ethic.  

Ray will continue as deputy chair on the group board.