Ex-Polestar product chief says construction has much to learn from automotive
Laing O鈥橰ourke has appointed electric car engineer Chetan Kotur as its new head of technology and innovation in Europe.
Kotur, who in 2018 was named young engineer of the year by the Royal Academy of Engineering, most recently worked as head of products for the Asia Pacific region at Polestar, an electric performance car brand owned by Volvo.
He begins work at Laing O鈥橰ourke today (Monday), working alongside his predecessor, Dr Chris Millar, in a phased handover of the technology and innovation team.
Laing O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 Europe hub, which includes the UK, Canada and the Middle East, posted revenue of 拢1.8bn in its most recent results.
Kotur said he was 鈥渋nspired鈥� by the firm鈥檚 vision for construction and its 鈥渄esire to apply learnings from other sectors鈥�.
>> Also read: It鈥檚 hard to let go: Laing O鈥橰ourke and the problem with succession
鈥淚 believe there is great opportunity to harness new technology and innovations to make advanced manufacturing the norm in construction, and by doing so boost productivity, enable greener building and make a career in construction more attractive to a wider group of people,鈥� he said.
Ray O鈥橰ourke, who recently announced he would remain chief executive for a further two years, said he was 鈥渃onvinced鈥� the construction sector could learn 鈥渁 great deal鈥� from the automotive industry and said he was 鈥渆xcited Chetan shares our vision鈥�.
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