Building Awards 2026 shortlists: CEO of the Year, sponsored by DGP

Earlier this year Building announced the names of all the firms that made it onto the shortlists for our prestigious annual Building Awards.

Now we are shining the spotlight on each category in turn and publishing a selection of the images that impressed the judges.

Today’s shortlist is for CEO of the Year, sponsored by DGP.

Paul Brown, Sisk

As CEO of Sisk, Paul Brown has combined disciplined growth with a clear focus on delivery excellence, people and long-term value. With more than 25 years’ experience in civil engineering, Brown has strengthened Sisk’s position across construction and infrastructure while maintaining a strong balance sheet and quality order book. Under his leadership, 2025 saw increased profitability and improved margins, alongside the acquisition of Farrans, expanding the group’s infrastructure and civil engineering capability across the UK and Ireland. Sisk entered 2026 with a €7.2bn order book and strong visibility into future markets. Brown’s leadership is characterised by a pragmatic approach to growth, technical excellence and customer relationships, alongside a commitment to developing effective teams. His ability to steer a major international contractor through a complex market while investing for the future, make him stand out.

David Cadiot, Bovis

David Cadiot’s leadership of Bovis is built on deep industry experience, having joined the business as an undergraduate in 1995 before progressing through senior commercial and operational roles to become CEO. His focus on sustainable growth, industry-leading change and developing Bovis as an employer of choice has helped position the business for its next phase. Cadiot has placed sustainability, diversity and modern ways of working firmly within the company’s strategy, while continuing to focus on delivering value for clients. In 2025, he oversaw the opening of Bovis’s new Euston headquarters, bringing more than 200 professionals together in a collaborative, wellbeing-focused environment designed around reuse and lower carbon. His leadership combines a detailed understanding of construction with a clear focus on culture, innovation and responsible business. Cadiot represents a modern contractor CEO focused not simply on growth but on how that growth is achieved.

Helen Gordon, Grainger

Dame Helen Gordon has led Grainger through a period of sustained growth, establishing the business as the UK’s leading listed residential landlord and a major force in the build-to-rent sector. Since becoming CEO in 2016, she has pursued a strategy centred on high-quality homes, customer service and disciplined investment, delivering both strong operational performance and long-term shareholder value. In 2025, Grainger increased earnings and net rental income by 12%, while occupancy remained above 98%. Its portfolio now comprises more than 11,000 rental homes, with a further 3,997 homes in the pipeline. Gordon’s leadership combines commercial rigour with a clear social purpose, reflected in Grainger’s focus on creating homes that enrich lives. Her influence extends beyond the business through senior industry roles, including the British Property Federation and EPRA. She is a proven leader who has helped reshape the UK’s private rented sector.

Ray Hutchinson, Gilbert-Ash

Ray Hutchinson has built his leadership of Gilbert-Ash around a clear ambition: to deliver better buildings while creating a stronger, more responsible business. As managing director, he has championed the company’s As One culture, bringing together people, clients and supply-chain partners around shared standards of quality, sustainability and collaboration. That approach is reflected in Gilbert-Ash’s growing profile across the industry, with the business recognised for its environmental and workforce performance alongside Hutchinson’s own CEO of the Year nomination. Under his leadership, ESG has become increasingly embedded in the company’s strategy, with projects such as Paradise SE11 demonstrating its commitment to low-carbon delivery. The business has also continued to invest in people, skills and quality, including achieving an outstanding CCS rating at Eton College. Hutchinson’s leadership demonstrates how a strong culture, environmental responsibility and delivery excellence can reinforce one another.

Eoghan O’Lionaird, Wates Group

Since joining Wates as chief executive in 2023, Eoghan O’Lionaird has brought a broad international business perspective to one of the UK’s best-known construction groups. An engineer by background, with previous executive leadership roles at James Fisher, Spectris, Danaher, Philips and Mitsui Kinzoku, he has focused on strengthening Wates as a responsible, inclusive and future-facing business. His leadership places people and culture alongside commercial performance, with fairness, opportunity and inclusion central to the group’s approach. O’Lionaird has also overseen a leadership structure spanning construction, land and development, residential, engineering services, technology and sustainability, reflecting Wates’s increasingly diversified capabilities. His emphasis on long-term thinking is particularly evident in the group’s commitment to creating places where people can thrive and embedding sustainability throughout the organisation. O’Lionaird stands out for his combination of engineering expertise, international experience and values-led leadership.