Following French media speculation, France’s third-largest contractor Eiffage named Benoît de Ruffray as chairman and CEO on Dec. 9, replacing Pierre Berger, who suffered a fatal heart attack on Oct. 23 at age 47. De Ruffray, 49, who takes over on Jan. 18, has been CEO of Soletanche Freyssinet, a unit of rival French contractor Vinci, since March. Berger also had been chief of a Vinci construction group when Eiffage founder Francois Roverato recruited him to that firm’s executive ranks in 2010. Named chairman and CEO in 2012, Berger was key to growth at Eiffage, which had $14.4 billion in 2014 revenue. De Ruffray also held several global executive roles at contractor Bouygues, including deputy CEO of its international building group.
Anna Stewart, CEO of U.K. construction giant Laing O’Rourke Group, is leaving the post for unspecified health reasons but will remain at the firm in an undefined strategic support role, Ray O’Rourke, company founder and executive chairman, said on Dec. 9. He replaces Stewart, who had been CEO since 2013. The change comes as the firm faces more of the “challenging times” Stewart predicted in September, when the firm said that its European division lost $88.3 million in its latest year ending in March and that overall corporate revenue fell 13% to $5.86 billion, although Australia operations did well. U.K. publication Construction Enquirer speculated on Dec. 11 that a search by O’Rourke, 68, for a permanent successor “could turn into the hunt for a buyer.”