The Top 30 Power Players in construction

Contract Journal's power players are the people we believe have the most influence over construction.

But the list includes only those with a direct influence on the industry. For that reason we've left out Gordon Brown, the most powerful man in Britain for the time being. We've also left out Boris Johnson, London's new Mayor, since so far he has not announced any policies that may affect construction in the capital.

But there is a place for housing minister Caroline Flint, who will have plenty to juggle in the coming year with sustainability and housing delivery.

The rest of the Power Players are made up from a cross section of businesses and organisations that carry weight in the industry.

Some of them are representative of their particular field, for example, we have only picked one architect and a sole developer, and others will have influence in their own right.

The end result is a list of people highly likely to have an impact on construction in the coming year.

30) The Foreman, construction gossip-monger in chief, Contract Journal

Highlighting the sometime erratic behaviour on construction sites, the Foreman has made it his mission to clean up site stupidity.

In the past year, the man who put the 'b' in subtle and claims to be the third McAlpine brother, has exposed French swingers, dodgy demolition, contractors diving into concrete and acrobatics with plant. If there's one person the industry should be wary of it's the Foreman. You might not know what your employees are up to, but he does.

29) Bob Blackman, national secretary, TGWU section, Unite

The Unite Union has packed plenty of clout since it was formed last year through the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU).

It now has more than two million members. Meanwhile, Bob Blackman has been handed responsibility for engineering, construction, and asbestos removal at the newly strengthened body.

A well-known name in media circles, Blackman looks set to become an increasingly influential player in the sphere of construction workers' rights. And his avuncular manner, which has earned him the nickname 'The Vicar', makes him a more credible negotiator than some of his shriller counterparts in other unions.

28) Paul King, chief executive, UK Green Building Council

Since his appointment in early 2007, Paul King has set about signing up companies from the financial, construction and development sectors to the UK Green Building Council's 'Roadmap to Sustainability' with some success.

The council now counts Arup, Barratt, Laing O'Rourke, Land Securities, Mace, Skanska and Marks & Spencer among its many members.

It has also succeeded in attracting the ear of the government and advised, through research conducted by its members, on the feasibility of zero carbon in non-domestic building and continues to drive the domestic zero-carbon agenda.

However, it remains to be seen how much time and resource King can persuade UKGBC members to give up when the credit crunch really starts to bite.

27) Lord Foster, chairman, Foster and Partners

Last year, Power Players predicted that the influence of architects may be on the wane and so it has proved, the scaling down of Zaha Hadid's Olympic aquatics centre being a case in point.

Nonetheless, Foster remains the man called upon for the big occasion. If it's a distinct design clients are looking for, then Lords Foster and Rogers are the two names likely to be in the frame, although it will be a brave contractor that takes the job on.

But the Foster brand still carries weight worldwide. Athletes competing at the Beijing Olympics are likely to land at the Foster-designed new airport terminal, while Moscow planners have approved Foster's design for a £2bn 'city within a city' on the banks of the Moskva River.

26) Peter Bonfield, chief executive, BRE

Keen to discard the accusation, made in last year's Power Players, that the BRE has a "tired public sector image", Peter Bonfield has made significant changes to the business since his first year in office.

The organisation has significantly grown its corporate sustainability business, taking on the likes of Marks & Spencer, HBOS and Whitbread, and has also had a hand in the delivery of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

And expanding its testing and consulting remit, several buildings have been built at its Innovations Park demonstrating compliance to a variety of levels using an array of sustainable materials and more are in the pipeline, notably Barratt's Greenhouse.

=24) Suzannah Nicol, chief executive, National Specialist Contractors Council (pictured)and Rudi Klein, chief executive, Specialist Engineering Contractors Group

The great defenders of specialist contractors, Rudi Klein and Suzannah Nicol, have both been particularly vocal about the need for change in the industry.

Nicol has seen its Fair Payment Campaign take on a harder edge as housebuilders started to get tough with her members.

Klein has seen one of his hobbyhorses - Project Bank Accounts - come to fruition this year.

Both are working hard to get retentions knocked back, as well as improving payment terms for specialist subcontractors. With tough times approaching, their willpower and influence will need to be on the ascendancy.

23) Edward Hardy, general manager, Considerate Constructors

A sign of this man's influence is that almost every major site now carries a Considerate Constructors logo on its hoardings. And it's no longer only large projects that are now signed up to the scheme's code of practice. Since it started in 1997, over 10,000 sites where work has run for 10 weeks or more have been monitored. But now a new 'umbrella' registration scheme has been established allowing smaller builders to sign up.

Hardy believes "the scheme will, for the first time, be truly able to act as the national benchmark by which the entire industry can be judged".

22) Sir Anthony Bamford, chairman, JCB

Sir Anthony Bamford maintains his presence as a power player for his promotion of UK plc.

The JCB brand remains synonymous with construction and its worldwide influence is growing. Market share is now 10.4%, making the firm the third-largest plant manufacturer by volume, with notable increases in sales to Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East and India.

Meanwhile, Sir Anthony has topped the competition among construction tycoons in the Sunday Times Rich List. He came 34th, with an estimated wealth of £1.9bn.

21) Tim Stone, chairman, KPMG Global Infrastructure and Projects Group

Having helped shape the government's £5.2bn-a-year Building Schools for the Future programme and the Treasury's rethink of PFI, Tim Stone is now the government's senior adviser on nuclear decommissioning and waste management. His experience meant he was the only man offered the job and is on a year-long contract working one-and-a-half days a week.

Stone is on record as agreeing with the Stern report on climate change, which says building facilities that produce cleaner sources of fuel is a priority. So expect to see plenty of nuclear policy in the coming year.

20) Nirmal Kotecha, Highways Agency major projects director

The former alliance director and head of supply chain management at Anglian Water Services will be responsible for delivering all national infrastructure improvements and renewals on the strategic road network in his new role.

While some contractors have questioned his appointment (one asking "what can he know about roads?"), Kotecha does have the experience of dealing with large budgets, albeit in the water industry, and is familiar with the supply chain and best practice.

He intends to conduct a whistle stop tour of contractors and is organising a major project conference next month, where he will have the opportunity to clarify the uncertainty surrounding the roads programme.

19) James Wates, chairman, Construction Confederation

It's 10 years since the launch of the Construction Confederation as "one voice" for the industry, but that hasn't stopped James Wates claiming the industry is still perceived as failing to "punch its weight".

The deputy chairman of the contracting firm that bears his name continues to campaign for greater collaboration within construction and more vocalisation of its achievements.

He remains determined to bring together the fragmented industry and make sure it gets "the credit it deserves for its place at the heart of the UK economy".

Wates also started the ball rolling on the inclusion of legally binding commitments to sustainability in contracts.

Following a summit meeting held in December between JCT, the government, senior company executives and the Construction Confederation, a consultation exercise is underway to gauge industry appetite.

18) Caroline Flint, housing minister

The former minister for fitness at the Department of Health has turned a few heads since her appointment. There is no doubt Caroline Flint will have her work cut out as she struggles to balance the demands of the sustainability agenda in a slowing market, but she has met the challenge head on.

Her appearance at Ecobuild shortly after her appointment displayed her willingness to engage, something many thought lacking in her predecessor.

She has since made measurement against the Code for Sustainable Homes mandatory on all new homes and intends to bring sustainable homes into the mainstream using eco-towns as examples. Whether many in the industry can forgive her for banning smoking while minister for public health is a moot point.

17) Peter Redfern, chief executive, Taylor Wimpey

Housebuilders have had a well documented tough time of late, and in the short term life doesn't look to be getting any easier as many share the woes of the US housing market.

House prices have fallen for the first time in 12 years and housebuilder Persimmon has halted work on more than 30 sites in order to "manage cash more effectively". While Taylor Wimpey results are hardly sparkling, having posted a pre-tax loss of £19.5m for the year ended 31 December, Peter Redfern has been able to put this down to "exceptional items".

He will be confident that, despite the slowdown, the newly merged company and largest UK housebuilder (turnover: £6.7bn), will be able to find the economies of scale to weather the storm.

16) Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Group

Already providing products that feature in many British homes after its takeover of Tetley in 2000, Ratan Tata's Tata Group now supplies the mainstay material in most of its offices: steel.

Tata's £6.2bn acquisition of Corus makes it the world's fifth largest steelmaker by output, with a 50% share of the UK market. Such is its dominance that steelwork contractors have nowhere to turn when it pushes through price rises. One complained that "some contractors could be sent to the wall" after the latest £60/t hike on structural steel.

With prices set to surge further as input costs continue to rise, the reclusive chairman of India's largest conglomerate could have a major impact on construction costs.

15) Garvis Snook, chief executive, Rok.

The nation's local builder has gone national. Having turned ECB (Exeter Building Company) into a contender for the FTSE 250, Garvis Snook's Rok is on a roll. Having taken on the smaller jobs other contractors might sniff at, Snook has built an empire based on a community approach. Rok has no headquarters, instead relying on regional bases to deliver a local, trusted service.

And the strategy is clearly working. Turnover for the first quarter of 2008 was up 20% on the previous year, while the firm's order book across new build and planned repairs and refurbishment stands at £650m, up 24% on 2007.

Meanwhile Rok's long term partnership agreements currently stand at £1.9bn.

=13) Pascal Minault (pictured), managing director, Bouygues UK and David Joyce, chief executive, Vinci UK

UK construction has been eyed up from across the channel for some time now, but it is only recently that the French giants have come over in force.

Bouygues, already established in its own right in PFI, PPP and framework contracts, is now on the lookout for more regional construction groups, having snapped up the £100m turnover Warings. It has now set its sights on Jarvis, which it expects to buy in the next year, while other regional contractors are also in its sights.

The global group has interests in telecoms, energy and construction, contributing to its whopping £23bn turnover last year. And with profits more than 10% of turnover, the firm has the financial muscle to make waves.

Meanwhile, Vinci also turned over £23bn last year, with operating profit at 10% of turnover. In the UK it made a profit margin of 5.2%, making it the envy of many a home-grown contractor. David Joyce has set a target of annual sales of £1bn in the UK by 2010 and you wouldn't bet against the firm making it.

12) John Morgan, chairman, Morgan Sindall

In 2007, Morgan Sindall became one of the largest construction companies in the UK after its acquisition of Amec.

The firm is seen to have achieved as big a bargain as the one Ray O'Rourke struck when he famously bought Laing Construction for £1.

Earlier this year, John Morgan told CJ how the firm had nipped in before rival bidders had got their act together. "You could say that it [Amec] cost us £12m in cash, but we've worked it so that by the end of the year, it had cost us no cash at all," he said. Although he declined to describe it as a bargain, Morgan chuckled that it had been a "strategic deal".

However you couch it, it's been a success. The company saw turnover surge to more than £2bn in 2007, with pre-tax profit scaling a record high of £58m.

11) Clem Constantine, director of property and store development, Marks & Spencer

British retailers have traditionally battled over the price of bread and beans, but now the fight on the high street is for the 'green pound'.

Having turned around the fortunes of the country's favourite up-market food and underwear supplier, chief executive Stuart Rose is now looking to lead in terms of sustainability.

The once staid high-street chain is now one of the country's most ethically and environmentally conscious retailers. Driven by Clem Constantine, the company has partnered with the BRE to help it achieve its 'Plan A' sustainability strategy with targets to become carbon neutral, send no waste to landfill, and extend the use of sustainable raw materials by 2012.

Don't bet against the strategy becoming a benchmark for retail clients looking to achieve organic growth.

10) Joaquín Ayuso García, chief executive, Ferrovial

The Spanish conglomerate now owns UK airports operator BAA and contractor Amey so, as well as being a huge construction client, it will have its fair share of Tube work.

At the same time its flagship company Ferrovial Agroman is coming on strong in the highways sector, having won a £250m road package in Northern Ireland.

But its practices may cause a stir at BAA, which has historically been a model construction client.

Word has it that it has run the rule over T5 and decided, had it been in control from the beginning, that it could have knocked a few million off the cost.

Are we in line for a change in procurement practices from construction's biggest client?

9) Tony Douglas, chief operating officer, Laing O'Rouke and CLM chairman

The former Heathrow chief executive looks set for greatness having been head-hunted by Ray O'Rourke.

Now settled in his new role, Douglas has set about re-shaping the organisation. He intends to "turn the company upside down" in his quest to achieve 25% growth year-on-year.

If he succeeds, it will be no small achievement for a company currently turning over £4bn.

Meanwhile, he has succeeded Ray O'Rourke as CLM chairman and there is talk that - having been hand-picked by O'Rourke - he is being groomed for the top job if, as expected, O'Rourke retires in 2012.

8) John McDonough, chief executive, Carillion

It's been a satisfying year for John McDonough, having successfully integrated Mowlem and completed Carillion's acquisition of Alfred McAlpine.

The two big takeovers have driven the company into major league player position with an annual turnover of £4bn and a profit margin of 2.4%. Figures covering the financial year to 31 December 2007 show a record pre-tax profit of £94, up £26m on 2006.

However, it hasn't all been plain sailing. McDonough admitted "when we bought Mowlem there were some surprises", not least its involve-ment in the OFT investigation into construction.

But lessons were learnt in time for the Alfred McAlpine acquisition, as McDonough told CJ after the conclusion of the deal: "Due diligence has gone well the Mowlem experience made us more thorough."

7) Peter Rogers, technical director, Stanhope

Having played a prominent role in the construction industry for 37 years, Peter Rogers remains an enduring figure, and not just for his trademark red-rimmed glasses.

Chairman and founding father of the UK Green Building Council, he is now considered a green guru in the property industry.

Far from the conventional establishment type - despite his success as the interface between the government and construction industry in his role as chairman of the Strategic Forum - Rogers practices what he preaches by cycling to Stanhope's offices from his west London home. He has even set up a fleet of folding bikes for employees to use rather than taking taxis to meetings.

Rogers is also chairman of the Strategic Forum for Construction's Olympic Task Force Group, and a trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum and chairman of its building strategy committee.

6) Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive, Homes and Communities Agency

Chief executive in waiting for the hybrid of English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation, Sir Bob Kerslake is tasked with the delivery of three million new homes by 2020.

The Homes and Communities Agency will be Europe's largest housing and regeneration body, and Sir Bob will have a budget of £16.2bn to spend by 2011, half of which is earmarked for the national affordable housing project.

With experience of building bridges between local government and private sector in his role as chief executive of Sheffield City Council, he should be used to placating twitchy housebuilders. In the current market conditions he'll certainly have to use all his powers of persuasion to convince the private sector to play ball.

5) David Higgins, chief executive, Olympic Delivery Authority

As construction on the Olympic site gets underway, the attention it receives from the national media will ensure the industry stays in the spotlight. Hence the appointment of David Higgins.

With experience working in Sydney on the 2000 games as chief executive of the Lend Lease Group and credited with turning around the fortunes of English Partnerships, he certainly has the credentials to keep the project on track.

And as budgets spiral out of control, he will be aware he has to keep contractors on side to meet the immovable deadline.

To this end, the dispute avoidance panel he helped set up should help avoid the legal wrangles and delays that plagued Wembley.

4) Sir Robert McAlpine, founder, Sir Robert McAlpine

In the absence of any concrete information on the company's current leadership, fourth spot goes to the founder of one of the most recognised names in construction, Sir Robert McAlpine.

Such is the secrecy cloaking the company it is actually registered at Companies House as Newarthill.

But the name has been covered in glory in the past year having been handed an unopposed run at the main stadium for the 2012 Olympics.

This follows the company's success at the Emirates Stadium, which was handed over "on budget and ahead of schedule", the group reports.

Given the muddle that other stadium builders have got into, notably Multiplex at Wembley, the company can be considered the safe pair of hands to look after the flagship project.

3) Ray O'Rourke, chairman, Laing O'Rourke

Having taken top spot for the past two years, Ray O'Rourke slips to third, only due to Balfour's stunning performance and the potential power of the OFT.

Today, only Balfour Beatty and Carillion are bigger than Laing O'Rourke, and they are both quoted on the London Stock Exchange. Ray O'Rourke certainly wants to give them a run for their money, with his stated aim of seeing the group expand to a turnover of more than £5bn a year.

The firm's latest financial results (March 2007) show a pre-tax profit of £45m, well up on the previous year's figure of £34m.

But it isn't only the figures that are impressive. O'Rourke's ability to recruit Tony Douglas, previously a client at BAA, is seen as a coup, while the firm's contribution to developing T5 was a welcome complement for contractors, despite the terminal's teething problems.

2) Simon Williams, director of cartels, OFT

Last month, the bombshell struck. The national media lapped it up as the OFT released details of its investigation into construction. In all, 112 construction companies were accused of bid-rigging activities as the industry was hung out to dry.

The named contractors now have an anxious wait before executioner-in-chief, Simon Williams decides their fate. He has ruled out criminal charges, but can still levy fines amounting to 10% of annual turnover. Enough to send some to the wall.

Though he has said fines will be "proportionate", some firms - particularly the nine implicated in tenders where money changed hands - will be bracing themselves for the worst.

And the number one is...