TopHat, a Goldman Sachs-backed modular housebuilder, has hired Lucy Weaver, formerly of FTSE100 firm Halma Plc and Unipart Rail (a division of the Unipart Group), as group HR director.
Weaver, who left Halma Plc in August 2021, will lead the HR agenda for TopHat with a strong focus on recruiting and growing talent and capability as the company looks to increase its current capacity to deliver up to 3,500 factory-built houses and apartments a year by 2025.
As part of the recruitment drive, Weaver is set to focus heavily on ensuring that the company hires people from demographics that are currently underrepresented in the construction industry. TopHat aims to smash stereotypes typically associated with the male-dominated sector by welcoming a high percentage of women to the team.
During her time at both Unipart and Halma, Weaver focused on developing and implementing schemes which placed talent management, staff development and retention at the top of the agenda - from growing apprenticeships schemes within the Rail industry to over 6 percent of the workforce, to implementing diverse graduate, management and leadership schemes to accelerate succession.
Weaver has a strong ethos for operational excellence and engagement and will be driving lean and digital training through the TopHat development programs at all levels.
According to the Construction Industry Training Board, the sector will need over 216,000 new workers by 2025 to meet growing demand. To help tackle this problem, TopHat will offer a range of opportunities and shift patterns for new joiners from all socio-economic backgrounds – including part time and flexible roles.
Internal learning platforms to enable skills development across a range of construction and manufacturing profiles - including lean, digital, engineering and construction – will also be developed.
Despite comprising over 50 percent of the UK population, women still make up only 11 percent of the UK’s construction workforce. By 2023, TopHat aims for women to account for 40 percent percent of its workforce, making it the top-rated construction firm for gender balance.
Prior to her role at Halma Plc, Weaver worked at Unipart Rail. She was responsible for managing 900 employees across 14 sites across the UK.
Weaver has 18 years of experience in manufacturing and logistics, meaning she is well placed to help TopHat reach its growth ambitions.
TopHat’s most recent announcement follows a string of recent hires made by the company in 2021, including the appointment of former McLaren Group boss Paul Buddin as chief financial officer, and Airbus’ former vice president Matt Evans as chief technology officer.
Jordan Rosenhaus, chief executive at TopHat, says: “Lucy’s appointment comes at a time when we’re really accelerating the growth of the business as we continue to increase our pipeline of developments across the UK.
“As we look to progress with a long-term strategic vision of growth, TopHat will benefit from Lucy’s industry and commercial experience that will help us to continue revolutionising housing delivery across the UK.”
Lucy Weaver, group HR director at TopHat, says: “It brings me great pleasure to have joined TopHat during such an exciting period for the business. I’ve been incredibly impressed with what TopHat has achieved in such a short amount of time.
“The company is continuing to deliver high-quality, highly-efficient homes across the country and I look forward to supporting the growth of TopHat over the coming years.”
