BAA appoints new executive management team

Mike Phillips appointed as CEO of the British Aggregates Association to head new management team

AT the recent British Aggregates Association (BAA) AGM on 21 June, the board of directors unanimously agreed to appoint a new management team, in a move to significantly enhance and develop the Association’s current management structure and its portfolio of interests and members’ benefits.

The new BAA management team, headed by new chief executive officer Mike Phillips, will focus on broadening the membership to encompass all aggregate products and processing. In addition to Mr Phillips, the new team incudes Roy Bush as director of health and safety, and Mark Cowan as director of transport, logistics and concrete.

Mr Phillips (centre of photo), who is currently a director of industry consultancy MinExp Ltd and was previous general manager of the Institute of Quarrying, has in-depth senior managerial experience as well as a wealth of experience in strategic consultancy practice for leading industry organizations.

He said: ‘I am genuinely delighted to be taking on this new role and feel that this opportunity could not have come at a more relevant time, following 18 months of a global pandemic. There are many challenging areas facing our sector which will need to be addressed, as well as many new and exciting opportunities to be delivered to our membership.

‘I am delighted that both Richard [Bird] and Peter [Huxtable] are to remain in post; their expertise and knowledge will be invaluable in navigating us into the future, and I’m confident that together with our talented management team and distinguished membership, we will go from strength to strength in our shared future.’

Roy Bush (right of photo) has already had three years’ experience working with the BAA and representing the Association as Secretary of the Assessment of operating Standards (AOS) scheme, a board member of QNJAC and through involvement many other industry-related groups. He remains a director of MinExp Ltd, having previously spent over two decades with the HSE National Quarries Team.

Mr Bush said: ‘I feel extremely privileged to be part of this challenging and exciting venture. I see this as an incredible opportunity to deliver something special for our membership. I look forward with great enthusiasm to helping this talented management team develop the BAA to secure its future for the good of the industry.’

Mark Cowan (left of photo), who has a wealth of knowledge, experience and practical industry-related skills and is well known and highly respected in the ready-mixed concrete sector and beyond, owns UK Truckmixer Training Ltd, which currently provides the only approved and accredited training and assessment for concrete truckmixer drivers in the UK and Europe, and which is also recognized and endorsed by CLOCS.

Mr Cowan said: ‘I always welcome worthwhile challenges to change the status quo for the better. Consequently, because I have spent years endeavouring to change how our industry ‘does the right thing’, I'm looking forward to getting started in this new role.

‘I believe this is a great opportunity to enhance/change the perceptions of the industry ‘for the better’ when it comes to transport and logistics. Having the passion and desire to help shape the future of the industry is a challenge I'm relishing.’

Commenting on the new appointments, Paul McManus, chairman of the BAA, said: ‘The BAA would simply not have existed without the leadership, passion and commitment of its founder, Bob Durward. But times have changed since Bob’s initial concept and they will continue to do so, so I believe it’s time for the Association to adapt to reflect these changes.

‘Therefore, I would very much like to welcome our new management team. Their job is to develop the practical strategy, and then the successful implementation plan, to deliver these changes.

‘After much recent hard work, I’m convinced that we have at our helm a management team with the drive, passion and will for success, which will make a significant positive impact on the Association and provide real value to our members and our industry.

‘Personally, it gives me great comfort that long-standing officers of the Association like Peter Huxtable and Richard Bird will continue with our organization, providing a safe set of experienced hands going forward.’