Managing Director of the Year Awards 2026/ 20 Utilities Construction MD of the Year 2026: James Dryden & Most People-Centric Construction Company 2026 From design and build to management and maintenance, Turnbull Infrastructure & Utilities Ltd offers a single, sustainable, end-to-end solution for engineering projects across the UK. James Dryden is the managing director behind the company, which today employs over 300 people and achieves more than £40M annually. We caught up with James following both his and the company’s recognition in these awards. Helping businesses to save money, reduce waste, and add long-term value to communities and the wider economy, Turnbull’s drive is to help clients build better, smarter, and right. Turnbull works primarily with clients in the nuclear and renewables sector and has recently expanded into decommissioning. Guided by the values of professionalism, trust, safety, and expertise, their teams consistently deliver projects on time and within budget. These projects include providing construction utilities services to Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. Turnbull is part of the YTL Group, which comprises nine companies across sectors including utilities, construction, renewable energies, entertainment, and business services. James has spent more than 15 years in this group, coming up through the business and working in different areas, including in senior roles for Wessex Water. He has been supported academically (securing an MBA from the University of Northampton) and professionally across this journey, which has also been shaped by his previous military experience. This means James recognises the value in working as a collective and understands just how important people are in Turnbull’s success. He believes people should be protected the same as an asset, and this is seen through the numerous development opportunities the team here are afforded, from apprenticeships and a robust graduate programme to a range of working groups. These include AI Champions, Women@ Work, Mental Health First Aiders, Working Parents Network, CID, Sustainability and Safety Champions. James explained: “Our selection of working groups allows for colleagues to get involved with team members they may not necessarily interact with during their day-to-day roles and also allows them multiple platforms to voice ideas which can lead to real change.” The strength of these initiatives is seen through Turnbull being named the Most PeopleCentric Construction Company 2026 as part of our Managing Director of the Year Awards. In his role as Turnbull’s MD, James is also very much all about people, seen through some of the strategies he told us about that are in place across key areas like communication, both internally and externally. This includes prioritising accessible storytelling in its branding, holding bi-monthly briefs across the company and running the iSay survey, where colleagues can simply and easily share feedback with the company’s leadership. Many leaders simply read through their employees’ thoughts and file them away somewhere, but Turnbull instead takes the feedback in and creates ‘people promises’, a set of pledges shared with the team so that staff can understand what the focuses are and where they can expect to see changes across the business. These promises are reviewed and refreshed with each survey completion, ensuring the desired changes are implemented. James also makes sure that leadership is present across departments, and that staff feel able to talk to them about the business and the things they want to see done differently. The result is an open and friendly culture, and an environment where people can be their best. Their dedication is why Turnbull has an incredibly exciting future ahead of it, particularly over the next few years, where its ambitious five-year plan is being deployed. This plan will see Turnbull expand into new markets within the nuclear and renewable sectors, including nuclear defence and sustainable solutions for waste (covering biomethane, food waste, waste management, and more), is something else James is incredibly proud of, and running a business that makes a real difference in some of the most crucial sectors of utilities and construction brings him real joy. Reflecting on his journey since joining Turnbull in 2018, and after more than 15 years within the wider YTL Group, James commented: “I’ve reached the academic heights I’ve wanted to and become the professional MD of a multi-million pound business, which allows me to focus on the staff and management team to ensure that, like myself, they can also achieve the goals they have set themselves.” The true measure of a great MD is how they support the people around them, and for everything Turnbull Infrastructure & Utilities Ltd has done in this vein over the last eight years, we are delighted to celebrate it with these two well-deserved awards. Contact: James Dryden Company: Turnbull Infrastructure & Utilities Ltd Web Address: www.turnbulluk.co.uk Turnbull Infrastructure & Utilities Ltd
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