The Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall (EKFB) JV has appointed Helen Samuels and Emmanuel Rossignol to head up its senior leadership team
Kier Construction’s Helen Samuels has been promoted to the role of managing director, where she joins the current 900-strong team, who are currently working on the 80km of the C2 and C3 sections of HS2 Phase One.
EKFB has also announced that Eiffage’s Emmanuel Rossignol has been promoted to project director, taking over from current EKFB project director, Peter Bimson, who begins a phased handover period.
Peter will be retiring later in the year after a well-established 25 years at Kier.
‘Preparing for the new challenges that lie ahead of us’
Executive chairman of the EKFB board, Olivier de Guinaumont, commented: “Over the past five years, in line with the HS2 project, EKFB has proved to be able to transform and adapt to successfully address any challenges it has faced, each time becoming stronger as a business.
“It is now time, as we embed ourselves more deeply into the delivery stage, to change our direction and prepare for the new challenges that lie ahead of us. Under the future direction and expertise of Helen and Emmanuel, our team will be well-equipped to thrive as we enter a new stage of our journey.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Peter for the considerable contribution he has made to EKFB. Peter will continue to advise the new management team in the months ahead to ensure a smooth handover.”
Samuels joined Kier in January 2021 as technical director, working with both colleagues and consultants to drive forward improvements in technical leadership, including design, assurance, and digital excellence to help close the productivity gap within the rail industry.
Before joining Kier, Samuels previously was CEO of Bibby Marine and previously held a number of senior roles in the built environment.
She was also engineering director for Network Rail’s £6bn per year capital programme, where she led a 700 strong multi-discipline design team.
‘Helping to deliver Europe’s largest infrastructure project’
Samuels commented: “It’s an honour to be taking on a role leading such a fantastic team of people, across EKFB, to help deliver Europe’s largest infrastructure project. I’m excited about working with the leadership team to help support the acceleration of delivery on behalf of our client, HS2 Ltd.”
Rossignol joined the export division of Eiffage in 2004. Since then, he has actively contributed to the success of most of the major infrastructure projects from Eiffage in Europe and overseas.
In 2014, he was delivery director for the successful new 200km High-Speed Line in Britany under a PPP scheme before embarking on his most recent role as EKFB’s Deputy Project Director in 2020.
‘A demanding year ahead of us’
Emmanuel Rossignol commented: “I am excited by the many challenges that the role of project director will bring and I am confident in the quality and extensive skill set of our Integrated Project Team to deliver the C23 project in line with our vision of shaping infrastructure for a better tomorrow.
“We have a demanding year ahead of us in 2022 with a number of critical milestones but we are at an advantage thanks to the solid foundations laid down in 2021.”
