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Ray O鈥橰ourke is finally calling time on the top role at the country鈥檚 biggest private contractor and will be replaced next year as chief executive at Laing O鈥橰ourke by a senior figure from mining giant Anglo American.

O鈥橰ourke, who turns 75 next January, will be succeeded by Seamus French, the chief executive of the $31bn turnover firm鈥檚 bulk commodities and other materials division which is responsible for 40% of the FTSE100 miner鈥檚 income and operating profit.

>> Comment: Ray O鈥橰ourke going, Steve Pycroft leaving? Blimey!

In a separate development Laing O鈥橰ourke said Ray O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 son, Cathal, will leave his position as managing director of its 拢890m turnover Australia division when its current financial year ends next March. Another family member, Ray O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 daughter, C茅ire, left her role as the firm鈥檚 clients and markets director this spring.

French鈥檚 arrival comes after O鈥橰ourke, who himself spent six years as a non-executive director at Anglo American, before stepping down in 2016, said over the summer the firm was mulling a listing on the stock exchange by 2024.

O鈥橰ourke will go next September and join younger brother Des as a deputy chairman of the group with the firm saying he will 鈥渇ocus on innovation, people development and major clients鈥�.

One senior source at a rival firm questioned the length of the handover but added: 鈥淲hat they鈥檙e doing, getting a new guy in, makes sense. If they鈥檙e preparing it for a sale or a float it needs to be a properly run business. They鈥檝e got a heavy hitter in which is what the business needs.鈥�

Another added: 鈥淩ay is close to some of the big customers so that makes sense for him to be staying on but I wonder if it might have been better if he wasn鈥檛 deputy chairman and had just gone. Deputy chairman is a bit of a non-role.鈥�

Anglo American, which last year made an underlying profit of $9.8bn, said last month that French was leaving the business after 14 years at the end of the year.

The 59-year-old Irishman, who has been a non-executive at Laing O鈥橰ourke for the past 18 months, will start at the firm in January as managing director of its 拢1.6bn turnover Europe hub and chief executive-designate on a three-year contract.

Laing O鈥橰ourke chairman Sir John Parker, who was Anglo American chairman for eight years until 2017, said: 鈥淸French] understands the discipline of the unique operating model and the development of Laing O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 longer-term strategy and has formed connections across the leadership team.

鈥淗e is a world class executive with rich engineering experience, a successful leadership and project track record and deep knowledge of our operating markets.鈥�

A chemical engineer by background, French, who before Anglo American worked at Australian mining business WMC Resources, later taken over by BHP Billiton, for 13 years, said: 鈥淩ay, Des and the leadership team have set some very exciting ambitions for the next few years and I鈥檓 confident we have the people and experience to achieve these goals.鈥�

Meanwhile, Parker said Cathal O鈥橰ourke will leave next spring and will be replaced by Rebecca Hanley, the firm鈥檚 group director of strategy and transformation and leader of Laing O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 R&D operations. An accountant by background, she joined the business in 2016.

Cathal O鈥橰ourke, once touted as a possible successor to his father, will stay on as a non-executive director.