Greg Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales to Welsh parents.^[3][4] His father was a warrant officer in the Royal Navy and the family followed him on postings to Singapore, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Dartmouth. From the age of four he lived in Devon and attended school in Torquay. He left school at 16 with three O levels and went to work as a dish washer in a hotel in Dartmouth. Whilst there he heard, from the head chef, of a job opening as an apprentice estimator on the Youth Training Scheme at Midas Construction. He did not qualify for the position but was taken on as a tea boy, turning down a position as a radio operator with the Royal Navy to do so; having had experience of unskilled work he worked "like a maniac" to pass his exams and gain qualifications.^[4] Fitzgerald attended a building studies course at South Devon College between 1982 and 1986.^[5]

In 1992, at the age of 28, the head of Midas Construction, Len Lewis, asked Fitzgerald to set up a housebuilding division at the firm and take a 15% stake in it. Fitzgerald was initially reluctant, considering housebuilding as a job for "pansies" and concerned about the business' prospects in the early 1990s recession. However the business did well and in 1997 was sold to Galliford for £5 million; Fitzgerald subsequently co-founded Gerald Wood Homes and within two years also sold it to Galliford (which became Galliford Try in 2000).^[3][4]

Shortly after the sale of Gerald Wood Homes Fitzgerald was brought into Galliford Try to head its housebuilding division. He became the company's chief executive officer (CEO) in 2005. His initial actions were to increase revenues in its construction division before focusing on housebuilding. He led the company's £244 million acquisition of Linden Homes in 2007, at the height of the housing boom. Following the Great Recession he implemented a £125 million rights issue to take advantage of the fall in land prices, a move described as "audacious" by industry watchers.^[4] He also instigated the purchase of Miller Construction in 2014, increasing the company's annual construction turnover to £1.25 billion.^[6] Fitzgerald resigned as CEO at the end of 2015, remaining with the company first as executive chairman and then as a non-executive director until his retirement in November 2016.^[7] Because of the acquisition history Fitzgerald has been reported as having spent 33 years at Galliford and having risen from tea boy to chief executive at the same company.^[8][9]