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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 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 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 a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology (2010–2019), non-executive director of National Grid plc (2012-2021) and also chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (2012–2018).
External appointments
Board member of the ERA Foundation and chair of the National Air Traffic Services (NATS Holdings Ltd).
Non-Executive Chair Designate
Kate Rock
BA
Appointment
November 2022
Skills and experience
Baroness Rock was appointed as an independent non-executive director and chair designate in November 2022 and will become chair of Costain and chair of the Nomination Committee from 1 December 2022. Kate has a background in corporate communications and strategy and brings a strong understanding of the construction contracting sector, the application of innovation and technology to drive productivity enhancements, and of government. Kate was, until 2017, a non-executive director and chair of the remuneration committee of Imagination Technologies plc and for 12 years was a managing partner at the international business communications consultancy now called Instinctif Partners. She is a member, until January 2023, of the House of Lords Select Committee for Science and Technology. Kate was appointed a Life Peer in 2015 and holds a BA in Publishing and History.
External appointments
Senior independent director, chair of the social and community committee and designated non-executive director with responsibility for workforce engagement of Keller Group plc, non-executive director of Unbound Group plc, senior adviser at Instinctif Partners, Director and Trustee of The Prince’s Countryside Fund and board member of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation.
Chief Executive Officer
Alex Vaughan
BSc(Hons), FRICS, FICE, 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 from 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). Alex was chair of the CBI regional council from 2019-2021.
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
Jacqueline de Rojas
CBE
Appointment
November 2017
Skills and experience
Jacqueline de Rojas was appointed as a non-executive director in November 2017. 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. She is the co-chair at the Institute of Coding and advises the board of accelerateHER to address the under-representation 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 at FDM Group (Holdings) plc. President of techUK 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 designated Board representative of ASGC, a construction conglomerate with its headquarters in Dubai, UAE, and which is a shareholder of Costain. Bishoy 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).
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 committee 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 to 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.
Independent Non - Executive Director
Fiona MacAulay
Appointment
April 2022
Skills and experience
Fiona MacAulay was appointed as an independent non-executive director in April 2022 and has chaired the Remuneration Committee since May 2022. Fiona is an experienced public company director with deep knowledge of executive remuneration and ESG matters. Prior to transitioning in 2018 to a portfolio of non-executive and advisory roles within the resources and industrial sectors, Fiona, with over 35 years’ experience in operations, large programme management, global supply chain and stakeholder management, held senior roles and board positions in the upstream oil and gas sector across a number of large and small cap companies. These included BG Group, Mobil and latterly as COO of Rockhopper Exploration plc (2013-2017) and CEO of Echo Energy PLC (2017-2019). Fiona was also until recently a non-executive director of Coro Energy PLC (2017-2022) at which she was also HSE committee chair and remuneration committee chair. She was a member of the Exploration Advisory Board of Cairn India Ltd (2019-2021) and is past President of American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Europe, receiving an Honorary Membership Award in 2021. Fiona is a member of the Geological Society of London Investment Committee and a scrutineer for its Chartership Programme.
External appointments
Non-executive chair and chair of the remuneration committee of IOG plc, senior independent director and chair of the remuneration committee of Ferrexpo plc, and non-executive director of Chemring Group PLC and EPI Group Limited.
General Counsel and Company Secretary
Nicole Geoghegan
Appointment
July 2022
Skills and experience
Nicole is a highly experienced General Counsel and Company Secretary with an extensive background in major/mega projects and infrastructure, covering the full asset lifecycle. Nicole spent six years on the HS2 project as General Counsel and Company Secretary prior to joining Costain. She has significant international experience in rail/transport, engineering and project services and is an expert in public sector procurement, fit-for-purpose governance and effective risk management.