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his morning I wrote to ACE members sharing the news that our chief executive Hannah Vickers has decided to leave the organisation for an opportunity with global construction firm Mace.

On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Hannah for her huge contribution and wish her all the best in her new role. Successfully navigating the organisation through the pandemic, she leaves ACE in an excellent position – financially robust, with a strong pipeline of impactful projects and an influential voice with policymakers.

I will be working with the board to find a new CEO who can build on these firm foundations to further grow ACE’s influence across the UK. Whether in Westminster, Holyrood, Stormont, the Senedd, or at a local level with metro-mayors, ACE will continue to make the case that its members are key delivery partners for government on issues like levelling-up, Net Zero and building back better post-COVID.

Thanks to the hard work put in by Hannah and her team over the last couple of years, it will be an easy pitch to make. This is a great organisation which serially punches above its weight in delivering for members. I fully believe that this has placed ACE as the premier business association in the construction industry, with the ear of the politicians and civil servants that matter.

Thanks to the hard work put in by Hannah and her team over the last couple of years, it will be an easy pitch to make. This is a great organisation which serially punches above its weight in delivering for members. Paul Reilly

In the meantime, I would like to stress that Hannah’s departure in July will not affect the day-to-day running of ACE over the coming months. The organisation will continue with a strong senior leadership team working on your behalf: Darrell Matthews (Director of Membership and Business Engagement), Matthew Farrow (Director of Policy), James Ketchell (Head of Communications) and Andy Walker (Editor, Infrastructure Intelligence) will continue the work delivering ACE’s 2021 programme. They will be joined by recently promoted Claire Clifford who becomes Director of People, Skills and Culture.

I know that they’re also available to answer any queries members and others might have on today’s news.

The uncertainty is likely to be most keenly felt by ACE and EIC staff, so I hope that members can bear this in mind over the coming weeks. However, I hope to be able to update you with positive news on the search for a successor soon.