l-r: Fabienne Viala and Philippe Bernard
Bouygues UK chief executive Fabienne Viala is stepping down after eight years at the firm.
Viala – who was promoted to chief executive last autumn – was also chair, after being appointed to the position in 2016. Construction News named her one of the 10 people to watch in 2024, on account of her promotion to CEO.
She is leaving to “embark on the next chapter of her career”, according to the company’s statement. Viala will be replaced by Bouygues veteran Philippe Bernard, who has been at the firm for more than 30 years.
His past roles at Bouygues include deputy chief executive at Bouygues Construction’s Swiss subsidiary Losinger Marazzi, and regional director for Monaco and the Cote d’Azur region of France.
Viala said her job at the helm of Bouygues UK was “an immense honour”. According to Bouygues UK, the firm delivered more than 80 projects while she was chief executive .
Bouygues Construction deputy chief executive Pierre-Eric Saint-André said Viala led Bouygues UK “with resilience, passion, and tenacity”.
“Championing sustainable construction and fostering diversity and inclusion, Fabienne has transformed Bouygues UK and positioned it as a leading construction and property development company in the United Kingdom, leaving a lasting impact,” he added.
But the firm has struggled in recent years, reporting a pre-tax loss of £62.1m in the year to 31 December 2023, which it blamed on subcontractors collapsing into administration during the year, labour issues and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Its margin also fell from -10.9 per cent in 2022 to -19.1 per cent, while turnover dipped as well.
It booked provisions related to the building-safety crisis totalling £147.5m, nearly double the year bwfore.
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Joshua Stein