TA Associates portfolio company think project!, a SaaS company for collaboration in construction and engineering, has appointed construction industry Chief Information Officer, Gareth Burton, as a non-executive member of its Board of Directors.
Burton began his professional career 30 years ago and has held various technical and commercial roles in leading global technology companies such as Motorola and BT. He has held board level IT positions within the oil and gas, mining and construction sectors, serving as Chief Information Officer for a number of companies, including Baker Hughes, African Minerals and currently Laing O’Rourke, one of the UK’s leading engineering and construction enterprises.
Over the course of his career, Burton has gained extensive experience with numerous technology platforms and has run software development operations within the construction market, bringing a unique insight into the technology and process automation requirements of construction businesses. Burton established the UK Construction CIO Forum and is an advisor to the engineering department at Swansea University. Through his position at Laing O’Rourke, Burton sponsors the software engineering degree program at Cardiff University. Burton earned an engineering and mathematics degree from Swansea University and attended the International Executive Program at Insead Business School in Paris.
“With the global addressable market for construction collaboration software estimated to be USD5.6 billion, and with a current penetration of less than 10 per cent, one of our major goals is to focus on this considerable market potential,” says Thomas Bachmaier, CEO of think project!. “Gareth’s extensive and long-term experience in the software and construction industries are a terrific value-add for our company. We will leverage Gareth’s expertise and industry knowledge to further expand think project! into international markets to help strengthen our position as a leading SaaS company in construction and engineering.”
Burton says: “I am delighted to join the think project! Board, particularly given that the construction sector is one of the leading market segments for embracing the benefits of digitisation. Customers in this market are dealing with some of the most complex global engineering projects and must ensure the complete ecosystem of architects, designers, contractors, sub-contractors and supply chain are seamlessly connected and able to communicate at speed and leverage the benefits of BIM standards and mobile technology. think project! has created a powerful suite of products that provides substantial value and ensures its customers are able to guarantee certainty and quality within the built environment. think project! is a unique solution and I am thrilled to be joining Thomas and his team, and to assist in bringing quality products to the global construction market.”
