He will lead the push to gain a stronger portfolio of commercial building projects in the capital where Balfour has historically struggled against rivals Bovis, Mace, McAlpine and Skanska.
Lydon brings a wealth of experience on large, commercial schemes while at Bovis Lend Lease for 15 years where he was operations director.
He delivered commercial projects for BAA Stanhope and the Crown Estate.
More recently Lydon was part of the Lend Lease delivery team for the £1.1bn athlete’s village for the Olympic Games.