BGC Australia has appointed international building industry veteran Daniel Cooper as its new chief executive, with Alan Tate to transition back to the role of chief financial officer after several months at the helm of the construction and contracting giant.
Mr Cooper has more than 25 years’ experience in the construction sector, most recently as the UK chief executive of Hanson, part of the Heidelberg Cement Group.
Educated at Murdoch University, Mr Cooper has also held executive roles for Hanson Construction Materials in Australia, including as chief executive of the group's Australian operations from 2000 to 2015.
Mr Cooper had previously joined Pioneer Concrete in Australia in 1993. UK-based Hanson acquired Pioneer in 2000, while Germany's HeidelbergCement Group acquired Hanson in 2007.
Chairman Neil Hamilton said BGC looked forward to utilising Mr Cooper’s strategic, commercial and operational leadership, following the BGC board's decision not to sell off the business.
“The group continues to build a strong pipeline of long-term work and is well placed to benefit from improving conditions in the resources, construction and property sectors,” Mr Hamilton said.
“Danny will play a critical role in ensuring the group maintains its strong financial performance and achieves operating efficiencies across BGC’s diverse, vertically integrated business units.”
While the Buckeridge family is retaining ownership of its core building and construction business, mining-focused BGC Contracting is up for sale, along with several properties.
