Build UK chief executive Suzannah Nichol is among a handful of construction figures to be recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours.
Other individuals included in the honours list include senior civil servants working on construction policies and former and current bosses at firms including Taylor Wimpey and Arup.
Nichol has been awarded an OBE for services to the construction industry 19 years after being made an MBE. She has led Build UK since its formation in 2015, after helping to create the pan-industry organisation.
Nichol started her career as a site engineer in 1993, after being inspired to join the industry following a site visit while at school. She became chief executive of the National Specialist Contractors’ Council in 2002.
Commenting on the award, Nichol said: “I am deeply honoured […] construction has such a positive impact on all our lives, and I was particularly proud of the way we came together during the pandemic and worked collaboratively to keep the industry open throughout every lockdown, supporting the UK economy.
“Working on behalf of a sector that offers lifelong and rewarding opportunities, I am so pleased that I have been able to make a difference and will continue to champion the industry on behalf of the businesses and people within it.”
Dervilla Mitchell, former deputy chair of Arup, has been made a dame for services to engineering, while Taylor Wimpey chief executive Jennifer Daly has been awarded a CBE for services to business and the housing sector.
Former National Highways chair Dipesh Jayantilal was also awarded a CBE, for services to transport, and Barry Blackwell, head of the government’s UK Building Information Modelling and National Digital Twin programmes, has been handed an OBE for services to technology development and construction.
Kate Tinsley, chief executive of MKM Building Supplies, which describes itself as ‘the UK’s largest independent builders merchants’, has been awarded an OBE for services to the construction sector and diversity.
Angela Forbes, chief executive of BuildForce, which champions the recruitment of veterans to the construction industry, was awarded an MBE, as was Francois Samuel, the former head of building regulations policy at the Welsh Government.
