Who we are

With around 500 employees in the UK, from as many as 30 different nationalities, we celebrate diversity. But there is one thing that every Bouygues UK employee has in common: a genuine passion for building.

Construction experts with a hands-on approach

Our employees are highly-motivated, intelligent and talented builders – not hands-off managers or consultants, but actual construction experts. And because the majority of our teams are directly employed you can rest assured that every member of your team has a complete understanding of the project requirements, is accountable for its success, and is working toward a common objective: delivering an exceptional building.

Committed to sustainability, excellence and innovation

We enjoy all the benefits of being backed by one of the world’s leading industrial companies – yet our company structure means we are agile and able to respond quickly to fulfil our client’s requirements. We positively encourage innovation within our teams, and use our detailed project processes and combined Group intelligence to consistently deliver high quality, complex work that exceeds our clients’ expectations in sustainable design, ethical practices and commercial competitiveness.

Madani Sow

Chairman of Bouygues UK, Bouygues Development and Warings

Madani started his career with us in 1981, as a site engineer for Riyadh University for Bouygues Bâtiment International. In 1987, he moved to Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France. His rise to upper management was confirmed in 1995, when he was appointed CEO of Screg Bâtiment. In 2005, Madani, already the head of the Paris commercial building branch, took over management of Bouygues Bâtiment Ile‑de-France. Since 2008, Madani has chaired Bouygues UK, Bouygues Development and Warings.

Lionel Christolomme

Managing Director

Lionel joined the Bouygues Group in 1981, as a Design Manager for Bouygues’ subsidiary in Nigeria. Since then he has accumulated two decades-worth of knowledge and expertise in managerial roles across the globe – from project managing major residential schemes in Paris, to his appointment as Commercial Director for Bouygues Construction’s subsidiary Dragages Singapore, where he took over as Managing Director in 2002. In 2005, Lionel transferred to Bouygues UK as Commercial Director for Healthcare PFI projects. He was appointed Managing Director of Bouygues UK in 2007.

Arnaud Bekaert

Deputy Managing Director

An expert in partnerships and project management, Arnaud has worked in construction since 1995, on a wide variety of projects, from oil and gas to buildings. He joined Bouygues UK in 2006, and as Deputy Managing Director is responsible for all commercial and pre-construction activities and the legal and project finance teams. His achievements with us include the Waltham Forest, Westminster and Tower Hamlets BSF projects. Arnaud is a Director of the Waltham Forest, Westminster and Tower Hamlets LEPs.

Colin Whitfield

Commercial Director

Colin’s experience, gained over 20 years in the construction industry, includes strong expertise in contracts and partnering frameworks. He has worked across public and private sectors, and his comprehensive portfolio includes projects in defence, hotels, education, manufacturing, banking, civic, residential, healthcare, aviation, commercial offices, press halls and warehousing. Colin has been responsible for project and programme management, bid management, quantity surveying, procurement and supply chain management, and legal matters. Significant successes with Bouygues UK include private residential and commercial projects. Colin holds a BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying & Construction Economic, and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Valerie Ferrand

Human Resources Director

Valerie holds a Masters in Human Resources from the University of Rouen, and first joined the Bouygues Group in 1997 as a Human Resources Advisor for Bouygues Construction. She was appointed Deputy Director for Human Resource Development and Diversity at Bouygues Construction in 2005. In March 2010, Valerie took over as Human Resources Director of Bouygues UK. She heads a team responsible for all human resource matters, including compensation and benefits, career committees, human resource performance indicators, equal opportunities and diversity.

Darren Gill

Commercial Director

Darren has worked in construction for over two decades and joined the Bouygues Group in 1996, holding managerial-level positions on numerous projects throughout Asia Pacific. Darren had joined Bouygues UK as a Senior Commercial Manager for the Barnet and Westminster Hospital PFIs in 1999. In 2006, he spearheaded a new Bouygues UK business unit which was initially responsible for managing SPVs for our PFI and PPP projects. Darren manages all activities with local authorities and successes in this role include our Broomfield Hospital, Westminster BSF and Lewisham Group Schools PFI.

Chris Stevens

Operations Director

Chris’ career has seen him hold project and operations directorships across a multi-project portfolio, and he has managed teams on projects ranging from £4 million to £250 million in value. Chris has vast experience in building teams to deliver highly complex projects to the highest quality, programme and cost certainty. With expertise across client relationships, partnerships and collaboration, along with procurement and supply chain management, he is a solutions provider. Chris’s major achievements with Bouygues UK include the Tower Hamlets BSF programme and the North Middlesex Hospital project.

Gerald Farque

Technical Director

Gerald has over 20 years’ international experience in project and sector management. He first joined the Bouygues Group in 1987, as a Civil Engineering graduate of Ecole Centrale, and held various production positions in Hong Kong and France. In 2002, Gerald took over as head of a division of Norpac developing industrial and commercial buildings and civil works activities. In 2007, he joined Bouygues UK to lead the North Middlesex University Hospital PFI project alongside our Business Efficiency Department. Gerald took additional responsibilities in 2009, as Operations Director of Bouygues UK leading BSF programmes , Housing PFI and High End Residential projects. Gerald is now Technical Director managing Bouygues UK , Warings and Leadbitter’s pre-construction, estimating and design activities as well as Bouygues UK Business Efficiency duties.

David Pierce

Finance Director

David joined Bouygues UK in 2005, following completion of an MBA at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School. His broad responsibilities include delivery of the financial and management accounts, company results and forecasts, treasury and taxation matters and all associated financial and statutory reporting. The first half of his career was in practice with one of the Big 4 accountancy firms prior to senior financial management roles with a number of blue chip organisations. Prior to Bouygues, David held the role of Group Finance Manager at a top four international corporate law firm.