Willmott Dixon has appointed Paul Smith, former Group Chief Executive at Morgan Sindall, to the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at its Support Services division.

Paul will work alongside the Support Services CEO Chris Durkin as part of a planned transition that will eventually see him become Divisional Chief Executive when Chris retires from the role at the end of 2013.

The appointment of Paul Smith is the culmination of a long-term process to find a successor for Chris Durkin, who after over thirty years’ service with Willmott Dixon, has decided to live permanently in Cornwall where he relocated in 2009. Chris will remain with Willmott Dixon as a non-executive director at Support Services.

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As well as spending nearly ten years as Group Chief Executive at Morgan Sindall, Paul was previously Managing Director at Accord Group, so brings a wealth of knowledge about the support services sector and is ideally placed to lead the division from 2014, when he will also join the main Willmott Dixon board.

Willmott Dixon Group Chief Executive Rick Willmott said: "This is a plan that we have been working towards for some time. It's not an easy task to find the right person to replace Chris, however in Paul we have found an ideal candidate and he'll work closely with Chris and I as COO this year to ensure a seamless transition to Divisional Chief Executive.

"Given his previous track-record, it is great news that we have acquired the services of Paul to oversee the next phase of Support Services’ growth; he is a fine addition for the Group and I am looking forward to working with him."

(CD/MH)