Galliford Try chief executive Peter Truscott has left the contractor to take the reins at housebuilder Crest Nicholson.
Truscott, who has sat in the Galliford Try hotseat for nearly four years, will leave the business with immediate effect before the end of his contract in September this year.
He will succeed current Crest Nicholson chief executive Patrick Bergin, who has stepped down today and will not stand for re-election to the board.
The housebuilder’s chairman of major projects and strategic partnerships Chris Tinker, who is also a board member, will step up as interim chief executive.
He will be supported by chairman Stephen Stone, who will become a non-executive chairman from 1 April.
Truscott’s salary will start at £650,000 pa with a bonus opportunity of 125%.
The new Crest Nicholson boss has more than 30 years’ experience in housebuilding. Prior to Galliford Try, Truscott spent 19 years at George Wimpey, during the time of its merger with Taylor Woodrow to create Taylor Wimpey in 2007.
Crest Nicholson chairman Stephen Stone said: “We announced last year that we were shifting strategy from growth to cash generation with a strong emphasis on partnerships and other joint ventures, to de-risk the portfolio while delivering more homes.
“Peter is highly experienced at delivering a broad range of housing needs to customers working with local authorities, housing associations as well as private homebuyers. This, together with his operational and public company experience, will bring strong additional expertise to our team.”
Following Truscott’s departure from Galliford Try, the contractor has announced that group finance director Graham Prothero will take over as chief executive.
Prothero has been a board member since 2013 and joined the company in 2012 from PwC, where he held a number of senior finance positions including group financial controller.
Andrew Duxbury, finance director of the contractor’s housebuilding arm Linden Homes, will step into Prothero’s shoes as group finance director with immediate effect.
Galliford Try chairman Peter Ventress said: “As a board, we are pleased that our strategic succession planning has enabled us to make a smooth transition both for the role of CEO and that of finance director. We take succession planning very seriously and are delighted that our efforts in this area have paid off so well.”
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