Snell, who joined Keller last year as director of strategic alliances to lead its HS2 bidding operation, will be responsible for CFA, DCIS, Precast and VCC piling and for the firm’s king post wall and soil mixing operations.

He said: “It’s a great opportunity to understand the business better, get involved in operations and take the piling side of the business forward.”

Snell has more than 30 years’ experience in the foundations business, spending most of his career at Cementation Skanska.

Bob Thompson, managing director of Keller UK, said: “Mark has already made a big impression in his short time at Keller and I’m sure he’ll build on previous success in our piling division.”