Dirk Vennix succeeds Bill Healy, chief executive since 2006, who continues to support CIRIA’s work across Buildoffsite and BIM.
Dutch by birth, Mr Vennix joins CIRIA after a year with the Confederation of Timber Industries, which he helped to establish last year.
Before that he lobbied for big tobacco and gambling as director of communications at the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association and subsequently chief executive of the Association of British Bookmakers. Earlier in his career he spent 10 years in Centrica’s corporate affairs department.
Mr Vennix said of his new job: "I am honoured and excited to be leading CIRIA. Good practice, knowledge sharing and performance improvement are the key to any organisation and industry’s success and CIRIA leads the way on these fronts. Bridging relationships with academia, clients, contractors, consultants, regulators and suppliers, CIRIA offers a unique platform for collaboration. I am looking forward to working with our members and other key stakeholders to champion performance improvement even further across construction and the built environment.”
CIRIA chairman John Connaughton, Reading University professor of sustainable systems in the built environment, said: “It’s an exciting time for CIRIA, and the board and I are looking forward to working with Dirk to help build on CIRIA’s achievements, both for our members and the wider industry. Dirk’s considerable track-record in delivering value for members and bringing industry together, along with his energy and enthusiasm, make him well-placed to ensure CIRIA’s continued success.”
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