Galliford Try has appointed a former HS2 chief as its first divisional managing director for infrastructure.

David Lowery, who joined Galliford Try three years ago after heading an HS2 joint venture, will take up the position on 1 July.

Lowery will be responsible for the firm’s environment division, which is focusing on water infrastructure upgrades. He has also been appointed to the firm’s executive board.

Lowery joined Galliford Try in January 2021 as operations director and was promoted to managing director for highways two months later.

Before joining the firm, he was executive director for the EKFB (Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial, Bam) joint venture working on HS2.

Galliford Try will bring in Skanska highways director Glennan Blackmore in August to fill Lowery’s current role as managing director of the firm’s infrastructure unit.

Galliford Try chief executive Bill Hocking said: “This is an exciting time for Galliford Try as we set out our strategy to 2030, and David’s appointment marks an important milestone in advancing this.

“The strength of his technical skills, combined with his leadership experience, and the recent appointment of Mark Shadrick, our managing director for environment, and now Glennan, will enable us to grow the business in a disciplined way, and capitalise on long-term growth opportunities.”

The firm named Kris Hampson, former financial controller at pest-control firm Rentokil Initial, as its new chief financial officer in March.

Galliford Try will issue its next strategic update on 23 May.