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Non-Executive Chair
Dr Paul Golby
CBE, FREng, FIET, FIMechE, FEI, FCGI
Appointment
May 2016
Skills and experience
Paul Golby was appointed as chair of Costain in May 2016. A fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Paul has held a variety of roles within the engineering and energy industries. Following an early career with Dunlop Holdings plc and BTR plc he joined Clayhithe plc, becoming an executive director in 1992. In 1998, Paul joined East Midlands Electricity plc as managing director and following its acquisition by PowerGen (subsequently E.ON UK plc) was appointed executive director, UK operations. In 2002, Paul became chief executive and later executive chair, stepping down from the E.ON Board in December 2011. Paul was also non-executive chair of AEA Technology Group plc (2009–2012), chair of Engineering UK (2010–2016) and pro chancellor and chair of council of Aston University (2009–2017). He was non-executive director of National Grid plc (2012-2021) and chair of its safety, environment and health committee from 2015-2021. Paul was chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (2012–2018) and a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology (2010–2019).
External appointments
Board member of the ERA Foundation and chair of the National Air Traffic Services (NATS Holdings Ltd).
Chief Executive Officer
Alex Vaughan
BSc (Hons), FRICS, Dip IoD, FIoD
Appointment
May 2019
Skills and experience
Alex Vaughan was appointed CEO in May 2019. Prior to this he was managing director of the Natural Resources division with responsibility for Costain’s services to water, oil and gas and power clients as well as the development of client facing technology solutions across the Group. He held this position since 2013. Alex is qualified as a chartered quantity surveyor. He has worked on infrastructure projects in the UK and internationally, as well as having held a number of corporate roles including Group HR director and corporate development director. In 2009 he completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program (AMP).
Chief Financial Officer
Helen Willis
ACA, BSc
Appointment
November 2020
Skills and experience
Helen Willis was appointed CFO in November 2020. She has significant experience in senior finance roles, including most recently as chief financial officer of De La Rue. Prior to this, Helen worked at Premier Farnell between 2014 and 2017, including as chief financial officer from 2015. She has also held senior finance roles at Pelican Rouge, AZ Electronic Materials, and HSS Hire.
Independent Non-Executive Director
Alison Wood
MBA, BA
Appointment
February 2014
Skills and experience
Alison Wood was appointed as a non-executive director with effect from 1 February 2014. She became chair of the remuneration committee from the beginning of April 2014 and was senior independent director from 6 May 2021, holding both positions until 11 January 2022. Alison will step down from the Board after eight years of service on 28 January 2022. Alison is the former global director of strategy and corporate development at National Grid plc (2008–2013). Before that, Alison spent nearly 20 years in a number of strategy and leadership roles at BAE Systems plc including group strategic development director. Alison has also held non-executive director positions at BTG plc (2004–2008), Thus Group plc (2007–2008), Cobham plc (2011-2020) and e2v technologies plc (2013–2017) where she was senior independent director.
External appointments
Non-executive director and chair of the remuneration committee at TT Electronics plc, Capricorn Energy PLC, Oxford Instruments plc and the British Standards Institute (a non-listed entity).
Independent Non-Executive Director
Jacqueline de Rojas
CBE
Appointment
November 2017
Skills and experience
Jacqueline de Rojas was appointed as a non-executive director with effect from 20 November 2017 and became remuneration committee chair on an interim basis on 12 January 2022. As president of techUK she is a leader in the UK technology sector and an experienced non-executive director who has held executive positions at global blue-chip software companies such as Citrix Systems, CA Technologies, McAfee and Novell. Jacqueline was previously a non-executive director of AO World Plc and Home Retail Group prior to the divestment of this group. She is the co-chair at the Institute of Coding and advises the board of accelerateHER to address the underrepresentation of women in technology. Jacqueline also lends her support to the Girlguiding Association and is an executive mentor at Merryck & Co. She was awarded a CBE for services to international trade in technology in the 2018 New Year Honours list.
External appointments
Non-executive director and senior independent director at Rightmove plc and non-executive director and board member responsible for employee voice at FDM Group (Holdings) plc. President of techUK, chair of Metapraxis Ltd and non-executive director of IFS.
Non-Independent Non-Executive Director
Bishoy Azmy
MBA, BSc
Appointment
June 2020
Skills and experience
Bishoy Azmy was appointed as a non-executive director in June 2020. Bishoy is the CEO of ASGC, a construction conglomerate with its headquarters in Dubai, UAE. As CEO and a member of the ASGC Executive Board, he has been responsible for developing ASGC’s expansion strategies, overseeing the group’s digital transformation and optimising operations across diverse construction sectors.
Bishoy is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and an associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Bishoy graduated from the American University in Cairo with a BSc in Construction Engineering (2002). He is a PMI Project Management Professional (2006) and also holds a masters in international construction management from the University of Bath, UK (2007) and an MBA from London Business School, UK (2013).
External appointments
CEO of ASGC, a shareholder of Costain Group PLC.
Senior Independent Director
Tony Quinlan
ACA, BSc
Appointment
February 2021
Skills and experience
Tony Quinlan was appointed as an independent non-executive director in February 2021, became audit committee chair in May 2021 and senior independent director in January 2022. He is a chartered accountant, an experienced non-executive director and audit chair with experience as a public company chief executive and finance director. He was previously chief financial officer (2015) and chief executive officer (2016) of Laird PLC, chief financial officer of Drax Group plc (2008-2015) and held senior finance roles at Marks & Spencer plc (1992-2008). Tony was also previously senior independent director and chair of the audit committee for the Port of London Authority.
External appointments
Non-executive director and senior independent director of Hill & Smith Holdings PLC and non-executive director of Associated British Ports. Advisor to Laird.
Independent Non-Executive Director
Neil Crockett
BA
Appointment
October 2021
Skills and experience
Neil Crockett was appointed as an independent non-executive director in October 2021. Neil was chief digital officer at Rolls-Royce from 2016-2018 where, in partnership with business unit leaders, he accelerated the development of the group’s digital strategy. Before that, Neil gained strong experience of the wider UK digital innovation community and from 2013-2016 was the founding CEO of Digital Catapult, a UK Government funded digital innovation organisation. Neil previously held several global, European and UK leadership positions with Cisco Systems (1998-2012). He is non-executive director of Catalyst, a not-for-profit organisation accelerating innovation and growth in the Northern Ireland knowledge economy. Neil is also a member of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise Innovation category panel.
External appointments
Trustee board member and chair of risk committee at Barnado’s and non-executive director of Catalyst.
General Counsel and Company Secretary
Sharon Harris
LLB
Appointment
September 2020
Skills and experience
Sharon Harris trained as a solicitor at Norton Rose Fulbright and worked as a solicitor at Simmons & Simmons. She is a general counsel and company secretary with listed company experience gained in multiple sectors, including energy and defence. She has considerable international and domestic experience of legal, commercial and governance matters.