David Picton, who was formerly in charge of procurement at the failed construction firm Carillion, has been appointed to a senior procurement interim position at Highways England.

The government-owned company, which maintains and operates England’s motorways and major A roads, announced that Picton would be its new Executive Director for Commercial and Procurement at the end of January. He will replace David Poole, who departs from the role at the end of this week.

Picton was Carillion’s Chief Sustainability Officer, responsible for overseeing the company’s sustainability strategies, supply chain development and safety over the past six years. He previously held directorship roles at Sky and Motorola, and was a wing commander in the RAF for twenty years, where he undertook several strategic and operational roles.

Carillion went into compulsory liquidation in January after running into financial problems during 2017. It was the UK’s second largest construction firm and at the time of its liquidation held several high profile public and private sector contracts.

Picton joined Carillion at the end of 2011 as its Supply Chain Director, leading the firm’s supply chain development programme looking for ways to grow business, reduce costs and improve operational delivery.

As Carillion’s Chief Sustainability Officer he was charged with leading the company’s 2020 sustainability strategy. This involved integrating business objectives with corporate, social and environmental responsibility.

At Sky, Picton was responsible for supply chain and customer operations, while his role at Motorola involved working with EMEA logistics companies and postal organisations on implementing new data technology.

After nine years at Highways England, David Poole will be taking on the role of Procurement and Supply Chain Director at HS2, replacing Beth West who is now Head of Development for the London portfolio of commercial property developers Landsec.

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