Ray orourke biography

He will hand over the reins to his son Cathal O’Rourke, a graduate civil engineer who ran the Australian arm of the group for over a decade, and returned to the UK a year ago to become chief operating officer.

Ray, aged 77, founded the business as a Essex-based formwork and concrete specialist, the year his son Cathal was born.

The firm entered the main contractor league in 2001 when Ray bought a struggling Laing Construction for a £1.

Since then he has been at the forefront of introducing modular and manufacturing approaches to construction.

Ray had previously planned to float the Laing O’Rourke business by 2024, with his succession part of that process.

While the group has grown steadily and achieved £3.6bn revenue last year, it year ran into problems with a costly legal dispute on a major project secured by the Australian business and operational losses in the UK. This saw it report a pre-tax loss of £288m last year postponing plans for a float.

Ray will continue to serve on the group board as a deputy chair, alongside his brother and partner Des.

He will also chair the board nomination committee, drive innovation in construction methods, and be available to the group CEO to meet with key customers, stakeholders and to provide mentoring and advice.

Ray said: “I am incredibly proud of our people and what we have achieved as a business.

“We have maintained a commitment to transform our industry, and our people are recognised for their ability to deliver complex engineering projects using advanced and sophisticated techniques across the globe.

“Cathal has enjoyed a successful career in our family business, spanning a quarter of a century and I have every confidence he will continue to lead our people well into the future, upholding the values and guiding principles that have been the foundation of our success.”

Cathal, aged 47, said he was “truly honoured to

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote a LinkedIn post about Ray O’Rourke.

He is the CEO and founder of Laing O’Rourke. We posted about his rise from humble beginnings to building a construction empire.

The post went viral. 

A leader’s job is not to do the technical work. A leader’s job is to lead, set the standards, and build an environment where teams can execute successfully. 

While watching the likes and comments come in. I got an insider’s view of the leadership qualities he possesses. As lots of entrepreneurial people read Construction Wave, I thought it would be rude not to share.

Here are some of the most insightful comments we received on our post:

“I worked at LOR and I remember getting into Dartford HQ at 7am. I went to there amazing restaurant for a coffee and some toast were I sat on my own, a voice said may I join you, I said of course. I look up and it was Ray, a true inspiration and leader.” – Mark Dormer, CEO at 3nvision.

“A genuine gentleman of the industry. His first thought is for the people working for him and that goes to as far down the ladder as it can. When he visited the site I was running for LOR, after a brief chat getting to know me the first place we went to were the welfare facilities.  His view was they should be kept to the same standards I’d have my own house… thankfully he found them acceptable!  He sets the standards and puts his own money forward to keep them that way. You can’t ask anymore of him than that. Unfortunately, not everyone working for him had the same moral integrity.” Bill Flannigan, Contracts Manager at Galliford Try.

“Ray is, without doubt, a real industry leader, but let’s not neglect the role his brother Dessie has played in the LO’R story, nobody has ever linked the boys and girls on the shop floor with the Company Board room better than him.  I’ve had many a call off an adgitated Client PM saying “a guy called Dessie had turned up unannounced at site & should they

Irish businessman

Raymond Gabriel O'Rourke (born January 1947) is an Irish businessman, the chairman and CEO of the construction multinational Laing O'Rourke.

O'Rourke was born in January 1947. A native of County Leitrim, Ireland, he was raised in Corraleehan, near Ballinamore. He runs the privately owned Laing O'Rourke with his brother Des (born 1950), and owns 55% of the company. O'Rourke "started as a 'pony boy' carrying muck out from under London as the Victoria Line was being constructed." His estimated net worth was €800 million as of 2015.

O'Rourke purchased the construction company Swift Structures, owned by his brothers-in-law, Jim and Matt Halligan from County Mayo. He then called in the receivers.

His son, Cathal, works for Laing O'Rourke, and in March 2023 was appointed the company's chief operating officer. In June 2024, it was announced that Cathal would succeed his father as Laing O'Rourke CEO from the beginning of July 2024.

Honours

O'Rourke has honorary doctorates from the Dublin Institute of Technology, and Queen's University, Belfast.

In 2011, he was made a Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).

References

Raymond Gabriel O'Rourke (born January 1947) is an Irish businessman, the chairman and CEO of the construction multinational Laing O'Rourke.

O'Rourke was born in January 1947. A native of County Leitrim, Ireland, he was raised in Corraleehan, near Ballinamore. He runs the privately owned Laing O'Rourke with his brother Des (born 1950), and owns 55% of the company. O'Rourke "started as a 'pony boy' carrying muck out from under London as the Victoria Line was being constructed." His estimated net worth was €800 million as of 2015.

O'Rourke purchased the construction company Swift Structures, owned by his brothers-in-law, Jim and Matt Halligan from County Mayo. He then called in the receivers.

His son, Cathal, works for Laing O'Rourke, and in March 2023 was appointed the company's chief operating officer. In June 2024, it was announced that Cathal would succeed his father as Laing O'Rourke CEO from the beginning of July 2024.

Honours

O'Rourke has honorary doctorates from the Dublin Institute of Technology, and Queen's University, Belfast.

In 2011, he was made a Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).