John Kirkwood joined Seymour Whyte in October 2015 as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. John is a highly regarded senior construction professional in the engineering and building construction sector – with over 40 years of civil contracting experience on several of Australia’s legacy infrastructure projects.
With his unique combination of technical and commercial skills, John was previously Executive General Manager at Leighton Contractors, and held senior roles within Abigroup Contractors, including four years as National Operations Director responsible for all business operations across Australia.
John’s strategic leadership style focuses on people. He has worked extensively across ‘concept to execution’ leadership, consistently delivering to improve cost, operational performance, and sustainable profitable growth.
John also has significantly contributed to the civil infrastructure industry bodies such as the Queensland Major Contractors Association (QMCA), Queensland Master Builders Association (QMBA) and Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Pay Equity Ambassador.