Andrew Davies (businessman)


Andrew Oswell Bede Davies is a British businessman, and CEO of Kier Group.

Early career

Educated at the University of Sheffield, Davies joined BAE Systems in 1985. At the company he became Managing Director Land Systems in 2004, Group Strategy Director in 2008 and Managing Director Maritime in 2011.
He went on to be CEO of Wates Group in 2014 and was appointed CEO designate of Carillion in October 2017. Originally scheduled to join the financially troubled business in April 2018, Carillion announced in December 2017 that it had brought forward his start date to 22 January 2018. However, Carillion went into liquidation one week before he was due to take up his post.

Kier Group

A year later, in January 2019, Davies was linked with the vacant CEO post at the similarly financially troubled Kier Group, officially confirmed on 19 March 2019, with Davies taking up the post on 15 April 2019, when he announced a strategic review of the group's structure.
Less than two months later, on 3 June 2019, Kier issued a profit warning causing its share price to fall over 40%, and the fall continued on 14 June after reports that Kier would sell its housebuilding division. On 17 June, Davies confirmed the housing division sale, plans to exit other markets, and 1,200 job cuts. Kier's share price fell 17% to 108p, a level not seen since the company's 1996 flotation, and its shares were subject to renewed 'shorting' with one analyst saying "every time Andrew Davies opens his mouth shares seem to dive by 18% and the consensus in the market is that Kier will go bust."
At the group's AGM in November 2019, shareholders objected to Davies's £2.6m annual remuneration package and an associated long-term incentive scheme.