Arup names Chief Operating Officer as new Chair

01 February 2019 Consultancy.uk

International professional services firm Arup has revealed the identity of its new Chair, as incumbent Gregory Hodkinson prepares to exit the position following a maximum five-year spell in the role. Dr Alan Belfield will assume the position from 1st April 2019, having spent the past 26 years with the firm.

Construction consultancy Arup enjoyed UK revenue growth of 4% in its latest financial year. The firm outpaced the economic growth of the UK as a whole by gaining a number of key contracts, including a multi-million pound redevelopment project for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. By the end of March 2018, Arup had generated operating profits of £113.2 million, up 57%, on the prior term. This included proceeds from the sale of a building it owned in the west end of London to the Workspace group.

As the firm looks to kick on from a successful 2018, Arup will also have to accommodate change at the top of its company, however. Current Chair Gregory Hodkinson will have completed his maximum five-year tenure in the position as of 31st March. Hodkinson has spent his professional career at Arup and is a passionate believer in Arup’s mission to ‘shape a better world’, and commands more than 40 years’ experience in large-scale projects – meaning his successor has big shoes to fill.

Fortunately for Arup, it is able to call on its current Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chairman to fill the gap, as it prepares for Hodkinson’s exit. The £1.6 billion turnover firm has appointed Dr Alan Belfield as the new Chair starting in April; he brings 26 years of experience at the consultancy to the position. Belfield will be assisted in his duties by fellow Deputy Chairman Tristram Carfrae, who has been reappointed in that role for another three-year term.

Belfield joined Arup in 1992, and his previous experience at the firm has involved leading the group’s operations in the UK, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to his spell with Arup, Belfield spent another seven years with Hawtal Whiting, where he reached the rank of Executive Engineer before transitioning to the consulting industry. He completed a PhD in stress analysis in 1981 at the University of Nottingham.

Commenting on the appointment, Belfield, said, “It is a huge honour to be appointed the next Chairman of Arup. I have worked in the firm for over 25 years, so I know what an amazingly talented group of people we have. In these uncertain political and economic times, our work and our values have never mattered more. Along with my colleagues, I look forward to working with our clients all around the world on projects that make a real difference to people’s lives.”