P.P. O’Connor CEO Charmaine O’Connor Appointed Chair of CECA North West
The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) North West and P.P. O’Connor are delighted to jointly announce the appointment of Charmaine O’Connor, Chief Executive of P.P. O’Connor, as Chair of CECA North West. Charmaine took up the role last month, succeeding Tommy Cubby of Truenorth Group.
She will be supported in the role by Vice Chair Paul Kelly of VolkerStevin, alongside the CECA North West’s team.
CECA is the representative trade body for civil engineering contractors in the United Kingdom, with more than 300 members operating across six English regions and the devolved nations of Scotland and Wales. Its member firms collectively deliver an estimated 70 to 80 per cent of all civil engineering activity in the UK across the key sectors of transport, energy, communications, water and waste from small specialist SMEs through to Tier 1 contractors.
As Regional Chair, Charmaine will represent the North West at a national level, attending events across the country and taking a seat at CECA’s Chair’s Strategic Forum (CSF), the body that sets national priorities for the Association, raises issues affecting the sector and shares best practice between regions. She will also lead the CECA North West Board of Directors and its Executive Committee.
Commenting on her appointment, Charmaine O’Connor said: “It’s a privilege to take on the role of Regional Chair at such a significant moment for both CECA and the wider infrastructure sector. The work CECA does in representing contractors, influencing policy and championing the people who build and maintain our national infrastructure has never been more important. I look forward to playing my part in that, and to representing the Northwest at a national level over the coming year.”
Charmaine’s first engagement in the role came in May, when she attended a Parliamentary Reception in Westminster alongside Chris McDonald MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Industry at the Department for Business & Trade. The reception brought together members, policymakers, industry stakeholders and colleagues from across the UK infrastructure sector to celebrate three decades of CECA representing the interests of the UK’s civil engineering contractors.
The event also marked the launch of CECA’s refreshed branding and its new Core Policy Positions 2026 paper, setting out the Association’s key asks of Government in areas including planning reform, infrastructure pipeline certainty, skills investment and supply chain fairness (read more here). As part of its’ 30th anniversary, CECA has also launched its ’30 Under 30′ campaign, celebrating the young people who are the future of the industry, and its ’30 Projects for 30 Years’ series, which will highlight the schemes that have built Britain since CECA’s foundation.
Charmaine will attend her first Chair’s Strategic Forum meeting at CECA’s offices at Millbank Tower, Westminster, in July, before hosting the flagship CECA North West Awards Dinner in Manchester later in the year.