History at CIOB as client elected as president

The Chartered Instuitute of Building (CIOB) has changed the habit of a lifetime after a construction industry client was elected as president for the first time in its 170-year history.

Geoff Wright, a director of Hammerson UK Properties, joins after stepping down as chairman of National Construction Week UK after five years.

Wright is past deputy chairman of the Construction Industry Board, past chairman of the Construction Clients Forum and the British Property Federation construction committee, and he led the client body on the JCT for 12 years.

Taking over from Colin Busby, Wright said: "People ask me why a customer of the industry should become president of the CIOB.  I reply that around 10% of our members are clients - 20% if you include local authorities.

"It is the client that retains a strong interest throughout all stages of a project - from conceptualisation, planning and design to construction and occupation - and it is the client who ultimately pays for all the work carried out.

"As a client, I place orders of approximately £500m pounds every year and I control these projects to completion - I believe this gives me extensive knowledge and experience of the construction industry," he said.