The Nick Fayers Ipswich Rising Star Award
The ‘Nick Fayers Ipswich Interact Rising Star Award’ is sponsored by the members of Ipswich Interact and given in memory of Nick Fayers who passed away in December 2017. This award is part of a national competition run by Interact to celebrate ‘Rising Stars’ of the industry. The award seeks to celebrate outstanding contribution to the property and construction industry through expertise, innovation and the consideration of others.
2024 Winner
Chris Frost
The winner of the Nick Fayers Young Professional of the Year Award sponsored by Ipswich Interact for 2024 was Chris Frost who is a Contracts Manager for Suffolk Civil Engineer Breheny.
Chris started life in the construction industry as Trainee Engineer for civil engineering contractor May Gurney in 2008 becoming a Sub Agent in 2010. In 2014 he left to join Breheny where in 2016 he became a Site Agent. Following spells as a Project Manager and Senior Project Manager he was promoted to Contracts Manager in 2021.
Throughout his career he's demonstrated the use of innovation and also consideration for others in the field committed to pushing boundaries, fostering collaboration and addressing societal needs through his work which reflect the core values of the award.
He acknowledges that he's been fortunate in his career to be supported by good managers and mentors who've guided him through the various roles since entering the industry 16 years ago.
He is a firm believer in leading by example having recognised how important this had been in his own journey and he's demonstrated this by his commitment to mentorship and team development. Throughout his career to date Chris has supported individuals to achieve their own aspirations as well as those of the business, recognising talent and inspiring colleagues to push on and become successful, which has also contributed to his personal growth throughout his career.
He has demonstrated a commitment to engage with the communities affected by projects delivered by Breheny actively engaging in social value to ensure that both he and the company give something back to the local community. When working on a project where a local primary school was affected by their works he reached out to them resulting in significant donations of various materials for the school playground, which although only a small gesture significantly improved relationships and left a positive legacy for the future.
Since promotion to senior management he has also used his role to undertake charity work and organised a charity golf day that raised £16,000 the East Anglian Children’s Hospice and the Lighthouse Charity.
2023 Winner
Apprentice: Adam Fuller
Role: Project Surveyor
Employer: Castons
University: Anglian Ruskin University
2022 Winner
The ‘Nick Fayers Ipswich Interact Rising Star
Award’ is sponsored by the members of Ipswich Interact and given in memory of Nick Fayers, who passed away in December 2017. Part of a national competition, the award celebrates outstanding contribution to the property and construction industry through expertise, innovation and the consideration of others. Against stiff competition, the winner of this year’s
award is Alex Drouet, Senior Design Manager at Barnes Construction. Alex joined Barnes Construction on their Management Trainee Scheme in 2010, before deciding to focus his efforts on design management in 2012. Bob Steward, Joint MD at Barnes Construction said: “A fundamental element of the way Alex works is through collaboration and teamwork. He
is enthusiastic and always tries to foster positive relationships with the whole supply chain. This has contributed to the successful delivery of a number of our schemes.” Alex was delighted to be given the award and said: “Having progressed through the training programme myself, I have always been very passionate about helping others who are going through the same journey, and I have found it extremely rewarding to put time and effort into their learning and development.”
Alex will now go forward to the national
competition as Ipswich representative.
2019 Winner
The winner of the 2019 Nick Fayers Ipswich Interact Rising Star Award is Matt Mclaughlin.
Matt, on the advice of his grandparents applied for and was accepted by Barnes Construction on their Management Trainee Scheme some 15 years ago. He has successfully moved through the ranks becoming an Assistant Quantity Surveyor, Quantity Surveyor, and then Senior Quantity Surveyor, collecting on the way an Honours degree from Anglia Ruskin University.
He is currently managing various multi-million-pound schemes as well as some of Barnes’s key frameworks, and during his time with the business, he has mentored successive new management trainees helping them on their career journey.
However, this award is not just a county award, as Matt now goes forward with the winners of other Interact branches nationally. Three finalists will be selected and go head-to-head at the annual National Lunch held in October, where the overall winner will be announced and receive a cash prize of £1,000, with £500 for second prize and £250 for third place.