CIOB president Peter Jacobs has told CM that his decision to take early retirement from Morgan Sindall – made in August but announced this week – will allow him to devote more time to promoting the CIOB in the second half of his presidential year.
Jacobs, 58, said that he had made the decision to step down as director for London and airports at Morgan Sindall as a result of personal factors – “some positive and some negative”.
“I’ve been at Morgan Sindall for three years building up the London business, I’ve been working flat out and it’s been incredibly busy. But there were a couple of things that made me reconsider my lifestyle, and I decided in August to step down,” he said.
“I gave them plenty of notice and it was a well-considered decision,” he added.
Jacobs also said that Morgan Sindall had originally planned to make the announcement around Christmas, when it would simultaneously announce the name of Jacobs’ successor.
However, when Building magazine heard of Jacobs’ departure, the contractor was bounced into making the announcement earlier than it had intended.
According to Construction News, the company’s London division grew from a turnover of £6m with 15 people when Jacobs joined from Bovis Lend Lease in 2011, to a £60m business employing more than 100 people last year.
Jacobs’ early departure follows news that Steve Elliot, managing director of the company’s Morgan Lovell fit-out division and a well-known industry figure, was also leaving the business.
Jacobs said he will be in post at Morgan Sindall until February, allowing a phased handover to his successor. But from March until the end of his presidential year in June, he said he would be able to devote a considerable amount of time to CIOB affairs.
“I won’t quite be working on it full-time, but I’ll be able to give the CIOB a lot more time than I’ve been able to. The timing is also good as it will coincide with opening the new London office, so I’ll be able to give it some presidential profile.
“The plan is also to get out to visit more employers, and get round the branches and see a lot of the members.”
At next year’s Members’ Forum, Jacobs will then hand the presidential baton over to Kuwait-based vice president Ghasan Aoaud FCIOB, after which he said he would “take a deep breath and see what retirement means”.
