CIOB chief executive Victoria Hills to co-chair new Construction Growth Coalition

Dr Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), has been appointed co-chair of the Construction Growth Coalition, a newly formed membership body for construction firms of every size, the institute announced on 6 November.

Steve Mulholland, chief executive of the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA), has been appointed the other co-chair, CIOB said. The Coalition is led by nine founder members drawn from the industry's institutions, trades and media.

CIOB said the Coalition brings together construction businesses from sole traders to the largest contractors. Its stated mission is to help every business in the sector thrive by giving the whole industry an equal voice with government, particularly the 99% of construction businesses that CIOB said are SMEs or micro firms.

Dr Hills said the organisation would give smaller firms a say on workforce policy. "SMEs don’t always have the resources to support extra apprenticeships for example, so when Government is making plans to train up the next generation of construction workers, it's vital their voices can be heard," she said.

Why CIOB joined

Dr Hills said CIOB's status as a chartered body, with a remit to act in the public interest, made backing the new organisation straightforward.

"Supporting the Construction Growth Coalition from the outset was an easy decision considering a large proportion of our members work for SMEs, and most CIOB chartered company members are SMEs," she said.

She added that it was only right that smaller firms had an equal voice with larger companies when government made decisions affecting the entire industry, and that she believed the growth government wanted could be achieved sustainably and accessibly through collaboration and partnership.

The Coalition, she said, would provide a platform for the open and honest conversations that would require.

CIOB has over 50,000 members across 100 countries, according to its website.

Background

Dr Hills is less than a year into the CIOB role. She started as chief executive on Friday 2 January 2026, bringing what CIOB described as more than 25 years of senior leadership experience.

The CIOB Board of Trustees confirmed her appointment following the departure of Caroline Gumble, the Construction Industry Council reported on 2 July 2025. Before moving to CIOB, Dr Hills had led the Royal Town Planning Institute, which she joined in 2018.

On taking up the post, CIOB noted that the CIOB Academy would be 10 years old in 2026 and that the institute would mark 50 years of its Royal Charter in four years' time.

CIOB has directed those wanting further information on the Coalition to the organisation's own website.