Carillion’s McDonough heads region’s honours list
THE chief executive of multi-billion pound support services company Carillion is among a number of senior West Midlands business figures to be recognised in the Queens’ Birthday Honours list.
John McDonough, who has been at the helm of Carillion for more than 10 years, received a CBE for services to the construction industry.
Mr McDonough graduated in in mechanical engineering at Imperial College, London, and joined Massey Ferguson in 1972 as a graduate trainee engineer.
His earlier career was in manufacturing before progressing rapidly through the organisation to become managing director of Massey Ferguson’s Global After Market company by the age of 35.
In 1991, he joined Johnson Controls Inc as UK managing director of its Automotive Systems Group.
He has been credited with transforming Carillion from being primarily a construction business to one that generates around half its revenue and some two thirds of its profit from service-related business. The acquisitions of Mowlem and Alfred McAlpine, almost trebled its annual revenue to £5.6bn.
Two key figures who help businesses in the region develop overseas trade have also been honoured.
Doug Mahoney, UKTI’s international trade director for the West Midlands, was awarded an OBE, and Jonathan Webber, director of international trade and development for Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, received an MBE.
Other business figures to be honoured include Professor Peter Elias, professor of employment research at the University of Warwick, who received a CBE for services to social science, and an OBE went to Kasmin Cooney, managing director of Righttrack Consultancy in Birmingham for services to training and exports.
