J. Murphy & Sons has appointed its Chief Operating Officer (COO), John Murphy, as the company's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Mr Murphy, whose grandfather founded the business in 1951, will take over from Steve Hollingshead who is stepping down at the end of this year to take up a role as non-executive director.

Having joined the business in 2003 as a civil engineer, Mr Murphy has developed a broad range of experience across the company's key sectors capabilities and notable projects such the London power tunnels for the Olympic Park in 2012 as well as the south Wales expansion pipeline for National Grid.

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Prior to becoming COO, Mr Murphy successfully lead the company's business across the north of England as Managing Director and has represented the company on a number of joint venture boards both in the UK and internationally.

Alastair Kerr, Murphy's Chairman, said: "It is with great pleasure that we welcome John's step up into the role of CEO. He takes over the reins at an exciting time for Murphy, where we have a clear long-term plan for where we are going and what we want to deliver."

Mr Murphy added: "To be at the helm of a company that is leading the way in innovation and engineering – a company my grandfather began more than 60 years ago – is a real honour, and I can't wait to get started."

(LM)