The former head of ISG resigned from his subsequent role as a non-executive director in December, the company has revealed.
The news comes days after the departure of his successor as chief executive was announced.
A filing with Companies House yesterday (12 February) showed Paul Cossell stepped down as a non-executive director on 21 December last year, ending a 26-year career with the contractor.
Cossell’s successor, Matt Blowers, left ISG last week after 26 years at the company, to be replaced by group chief operating officer Zoe Price.
An ISG spokesperson told Construction News that Cossell’s resignation was “not in any way linked” to the departure of Blowers, adding: “Paul remained [at ISG] for a planned period of time to support the transition [after stepping down as CEO] but left last year.”
Cossell became a non-executive director and vice-chairman after serving as chief executive from April 2016 until January 2022, when he handed over to Blowers.
At the same time as announcing Blowers’ departure, ISG also revealed that chief financial officer Karen Booth will leave in March. Andrew Page has been appointed as interim chief financial officer.
ISG was ranked sixth in the CN100 table last year with turnover of £2.19bn.
In its most recent accounts for the year ending 31 December 2022, the contractor described a strong cash position and increased forward orders.
However, its pre-tax profit dropped by 38 per cent, from £18.5m to £11.5m, and in November last year the firm moved to deny “unsubstantiated, wholly inaccurate and false claims” amid rumours about its financial health.
Cossell’s replacement as vice-chairman is not yet known.
Before becoming chief executive, Cossell’s previous roles at ISG included managing director of its fit-out and engineering-services arm. He also spearheaded the contractor’s entry into the data-centre construction market.
Outside ISG, Cossell served as chair of Build UK from 2021 until 2023, having been a board member since September 2020.
He is currently CEO of data-centres operator Yondr, which is part of the Cathexis group of companies that also owns ISG.
