Alan Crane CBE CIOB President 2011 - 2013                                                                                                       FCIOB BMYA winner 1981

Alan Crane FCIOB, CBE, CIOB President for 2011-2013

On December 7, 2011, Alan Crane CBE became the 109th President of the Chartered Institute of Building, taking over from James Wates deputy chairman of the Wates Group.

Speaking about his appointment, Alan said, “Being President of the CIOB is a real privilege and I couldn’t be taking over at a more exciting time. Next year London hosts the Olympic Games and that has tremendous potential to give the whole country a lift. If we can transfer some of that buzz into the rest of the industry everyone will benefit; construction has a lot to be proud about.

“If you believed everything you read at the moment you wouldn’t bother getting up in the morning. But I believe this industry and the CIOB must continue to adapt and be positive about what we can achieve. In my career I have always thought of myself as an agent of change. That’s actually what construction is about – change. We’re looking to shake things up, and break the mould of the traditional professional institute approach.

*Alan Crane has a pet hate. He detests people saying something ‘can’t’ be done. Whether he’s arguing for tougher safety measures in the construction industry or getting projects completed in adverse weather conditions, he always likes to look for the positives.

“It’s about what you can do,” he says. “I don’t spend five seconds on what I can’t do. I don’t even stay in the same room as people who tell me what they can’t do. We don’t have enough time on this earth as it is. We have to take the time we’ve got, and spend it on positives, spend it on solutions.”

This, he says, rather than ambition per se, is what’s fuelled his meteoric rise through the industry.

By 1981, he’d won the CIOB’s Building Manager of the Year Award, which led to Alan’s continuing involvement with the Institute.

“I wanted to create a way for anyone in the industry who wants to join,” he says. “Everybody working in the industry is a professional. I’m quite proud about my contribution to widening the route to qualifications. Before, most people couldn’t get in.”

Alan himself duly gained full CIOB membership via the new DMX exams, which assessed his experience rather than prior qualifications. He also won the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Medal for his work as project director at Gateway II in Basingstoke.

-- *Extract from Building Visionaries: The Unsung Heroes
ISBN: 9781853804991
Author(s): Collier, Caroline
Published: June 2009

To read more about Alan and his exciting venture in to the world of construction, you can purchase a copy of Building Visionaries: The Unsung Heroes from Construction Books Direct. You can read an extended version of his biography here. You can also read his inaugural speech attached at the bottom of this page.