Ray will continue to serve on the group board as deputy chair, and also chair the board nomination committee.

Succeeding him is his son Cathal O’Rourke who will take up the role from 1st July after receiving unanimous board approval.

Cathal has been with the firm for 10 years and most recently held the role of group COO.

A graduate civil engineer, he has also served as president of the Australian Constructors’ Association or ACA.

Ray has led the group for five decades, founding the business as a regionally based formwork and concrete specialist in 1977.

“I am delighted to be in a position to hand over the reins of CEO to my son and our group COO, Cathal O’Rourke,” said Ray.

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“I am incredibly proud of our people and what we have achieved as a business — we have maintained a commitment to transform our industry, and our people are recognised for their ability to deliver complex engineering projects using advanced and sophisticated techniques across the globe.”

“The board has every confidence in Cathal’s leadership qualities, accumulated experience, his commitment to modernising the industry and his alignment with Laing O’Rourke’s values of care, integrity, and courage,” said Sir John Parker GBE FREng, chair of the group.

“We salute the unique creativity of Ray’s leadership in building the group and its culture that we know today — we are fortunate that he will continue to serve, providing ongoing guidance and mentorship.”