Cummins joins Permasteelisa from his current role as Group Managing Director of Kier Construction. Prior to Kier, he held senior executive roles for over 16 years at Laing O’Rourke, where he led specialist and main construction businesses.

Kier confirmed last month that Cummins would be leaving to take up another chief executive role.

He will succeed Klaus Lother, who is retiring from Permasteelisa following 30 years of service. Lother will remain a non-executive director of the group’s holding company.

Peter Bacon, Chairman of Permasteelisa said: “We are delighted to have Liam at the helm of Permasteelisa, further deepening our expertise in construction services and bringing strong leadership to underpin our ambitions for the business.

“He brings a strong strategic and commercial skill set to the role, as well as broad sector experience from his previous senior leadership roles across an International construction landscape.

“I look forward to him working with our senior management team to deliver our long-term plans for the business. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Klaus for his many contributions to the Group over a long career; we look forward to continuing to benefit from his advice and wisdom as a non-executive director.”

Cummins said: “Permasteelisa has a global footprint with strong capabilities across engineering, manufacturing and delivery. I am looking forward to joining this talented team with a continued focus on operational excellence and innovation.

“I can’t wait to get started and hope to bring my experience in our core markets to lead Permasteelisa into the future.”