BALFOUR Beatty has announced the appointment of Lee Hewitt as UK health, safety, and environment director.
Lee is set to take up the new role on September 5, succeeding Heather Bryant who is retiring in November having spent eight years at the firm.
He will be responsible for driving the firm’s zero harm, health, safety, and wellbeing strategy across the group, working closely with Balfour Beatty’s leadership teams and the board safety and sustainability committee.
Lee has undertaken several strategic roles, most recently as programme director for site wide delivery and logistics at Balfour Beatty VINCI’s HS2 Area North contract, Britain’s new high-speed rail line and the largest infrastructure project in Europe.
He has previously held roles at the SMB (Skanska MWH Balfour Beatty) joint venture delivering the Thames Water capital programme, as well as the head of capital procurement for Gatwick Airport Limited, director of procurement and contract management at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, head of infrastructure, project management, and construction EMEA for Lendlease, and the head of UK procurement for National Grid where he spent 25 years.
Balfour Beatty said Lee’s experience will drive further operational focus and insights as the group continues to deliver against its zero harm strategy.
The contractor added that Heather Bryant has been ‘instrumental’ in progressing Balfour Beatty’s health and safety agenda, a ‘core value’ of the group’s build to last strategy, most notably overseeing a 50% reduction in lost time Injury Rate since 2014, and the launch of the company’s Observation App which has seen over 750,000 health and safety observations.
Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Group chief executive, said, “Health and safety is our license to operate and it is imperative that our teams are empowered and supported to deliver our zero harm vision. With his extensive deep domain knowledge and understanding of the industry from leadership and project-based roles, I know that Lee will continue to drive this agenda forward across Balfour Beatty, and I am pleased to welcome him to the group.
“I would like to thank Heather for her steadfast commitment to making the construction and infrastructure industry a safer and healthier environment for everyone.”
