25 Construction Marketing Influencers You Need To Follow In 2022

Back by popular demand! Here is the new list of construction marketing influencers you need to follow in 2022.

2022 has seen an upsurge in the popularity of social media in construction, and with this comes the increased popularity of construction influencers, the people we all flock to for advice, inspiration or perhaps a bit of entertainment. 

I’ve scoured social media to find 25 trailblazing individuals for you to follow.

Please note, this list is in no particular order, just awesome construction professionals.

Here is our 25 Construction Marketing Influencers You Need To Follow in 2022!

25 trailblazing individuals

#1 Dame Judith Hackitt – Non-Executive Director and Chair at HS2 & High Value Manufacturing Catapult & EEF

The first woman to receive an honorary fellowship from CIOB and hopefully not the last.

Judith is a huge name in the industry after writing the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety following Grenfell in 2017 which has driven many policy changes across the country and focuses on recommendations on high rise residential buildings. 

Since her report was published, Judith has been named as a government adviser on the Building Safety Regulator, providing independent advice and overseeing the design and management of buildings.

Judith is passionate about all aspects of health and safety in the industry as well as engineering and manufacturing “Health and safety is not and has never been a priority. It is a core value, it’s about caring not about compiling with rules that have been set by someone else.” She advocates for putting the residents of high rise buildings first, following the tragedy of Grenfell she believes engaging with residents and giving them access to raise any health and safety concerns that need to be addressed.

#2 Kate Perrin - Group Marketing Director at Barbour ABI

Kate is a dynamic, results-driven marketing leader with over 15 years of experience in B2B leadership positions. Kate became the Marketing Director at Barbour ABI just 19 months ago and within 1 year she has become the Group Marketing Director responsible for the marketing function across the group’s brands including digital product directory, Barbour Product Search and specialist market research division, AMA Research... She means business. With a smile of course!

On her journey so far Kate said, "At Barbour ABI we have had our own pacey journey and I am very proud to lead a team of talented marketers dedicated to personalising the brand experience for every single individual who interacts with one of our group companies. Of course, we are still on that journey, but with a sound strategy, some very clever marketing technology and the hearts and minds of my brilliant colleagues, I am excited about what we are set to achieve in 2022."

Kate has recently led Barbour ABI's new service called 'Marketing Mentors', a compilation of weekly blogs, white papers, listicles and guest articles from industry experts to help you ensure you're getting the very best ROI from your construction marketing and sales. A true adopter of cutting edge Marketing Technology Kate said "if I look back on the last two years and particularly the last twelve months, the pace of change in the adoption of new technologies and new approaches in marketing across construction has been nothing short of astounding."

We are huge on content marketing and MarTech so to see Kate championing it at a leading organisation like Barbour ABI is incredible!

Kate loves her mantras and one of her core beliefs is that ‘together we can make a difference. In 2021 she took the time to complete a course on understanding and working to mitigate 'Unconcious Bias'. Kate went on to say "It truly opened my eyes to the extent that subconscious preference can have an effect on your opinions. I would strongly recommend that every marketer aims to access some training on this in 2022 if you haven’t already.'

2022 better watch out for Barbour ABI with Kate at the helm!

#3 Leigh Simpson – Founder & CEO at Insynth Marketing & Project Prospecta

Last year we described Leigh as 'a digital construction marketing wizard' however, now the term 'sorcerer' or perhaps 'bad-ass' is more fitting.

With over 30 years of experience in construction marketing, Leigh has seen it all, done it all with the medal to show for it. But in the past year, Leigh has achieved some incredible things that perhaps he himself wouldn't have thought was possible this time last year.

Insynth Marketing was shortlisted for 9 CMAs and won two; Best Professional Services Marketing Campaign and Emerging Agency Star of the Year; this shows Leigh's drive to deliver incredible results for his clients and a development system that creates top marketing talents. The achievement is awesome alone, but when put into context that it was Insynths first time applying for anything at CMAs, the achievement becomes that bit more impressive.

Insynth also tripled in size, generating the worlds second best construction marketing blog and record revenue! The trend continues with Project Prospecta and Contour Heating, who both respectively broke their revenue records too!

To Leigh's standards, however, 2021 has been an 'okay' year, but if so I'm dying to see what a great year looks like!

#4 Hiba Okba – Digital Marketing Executive at ROCKWOOL

Hiba has had an incredible year, becoming the Digital Marketing and Communications Manager at ROCKWOOL and winning the Young Marketer of the Year award at the national Construction Marketing Awards. She has proven herself to be one of the top young marketers in construction!

Now leading the digital marketing and communications at ROCKWOOL an innovative manufacturer of high-performing and sustainable insulation products, Hiba is in prime position to market their stance on sustainability and development and to drive growth for ROCKWOOL. Watch this space!

#5 Christine Williamson – Founder at Building Science Fight Club

Still Pink. Construction. Unapologetic.

With women making up less than 20% of the population in construction, Christine is a breath of fresh air, she was on this list last year and she isn't going anywhere for 2022!

Christine has spent her career in building science forensics, discovering why buildings fail and working with architects to rectify those issues improving the durability, comfort, and energy efficiency of buildings. Christine provides technical design consulting services to architects, developers, and contractors reviewing details and specifications to improve durability, comfort, and energy efficiency.  

She also teaches architects, architects in training, and other building industry professionals about building science and construction. She takes a seemingly mundane subject and repackages it, turning it into educational and engaging content. She doesn’t have 80k followers for no reason! Which is up to 20k on last year! Christine is a must-follow!

#6 Tom Spilsted – Founder & CEO at Construo

What pops into your head when I say 'construction social media?'

If a humble brag or blagging gurus came to mind you wouldn't be wrong. But imagine if there was a social media platform just for construction professionals to network and share knowledge, without the extra faff?

Well, that's exactly what Tom Spilsted has created. In 2019 Tom founded Construo a web portal aimed at sharing practical experience across the construction industry. With the purpose to enable easier and construction focused collaboration and knowledge sharing. 

Tom explains that Construo is “About trying to engender collaboration and find information, which is not easy in the construction industry, generally. What makes it unique is that it’s not a search engine or a magazine. It’s live, so people can pose questions and get answers from a group of practical people, who have experience in the industry. It’s designed to build a whole library of answers and questions that is interactive.”

Web portal Construo aims to combat the construction industry’s fragmented nature and boost construction professionals’ careers. It is a construction-specific web portal with the lofty ambition of bringing cohesion to what is a famously fragmented industry. Construo’s creators envisage it becoming the go-to website for professionals on all rungs of the construction industry’s ladder.

Anyone in the construction industry struggling with a seemingly insurmountable problem, seeking to improve their work-related knowledge and skills or looking to develop an extensive and useful network of business contacts would be well advised to become active on here.

I've been using this for the past month, and it's awesome, check it out but not before you follow Tom!

#7 Jack Meisinger – Chief Revenue Officer at Insynth & Project Prospecta

Our good friend from across the pond, Jack is the Chief Revenue Officer of Insynth and Project Prospecta, a marketing service for Barbour ABI subscribers which launched in January of last year.

Before joining the Insynth family, Jack worked as a creative copywriter and advertiser but he finds his passion working in the sector of construction marketing. “Launching a new service for Barbour ABI users wasn’t easy, because the needs and challenges of each client are so different. We stay close to our clients and are proactive with solutions” Jack says. 

An avid learner, Jack always takes part in webinars, online courses and exhibitions, sharing his newfound knowledge on LinkedIn and blogs for his followers to read and learn from. “The more ideas you get from other people, the more solutions you’ll have on hand as challenges pop up” Jack says.

Jack said on his responsibilities at Project Prospecta "we run campaigns that are hyper-personalised and relevant – based on the construction projects contacts are currently working on. Their main focus is CPD promotions, after learning how important CPDs are in the industry and the most effective way to sell into the industry."

Project Prospecta can schedule an incredible 8 CPDs a month for their clients with their simple and frictionless sign-up strategy. Isn't time you got your MarTech game up?

As a result of his consistent performance exceeding targets set, Jack as of this month has become the Chief Revenue Officer for Insynth and Project Prospecta! An incredible achievement for an outstanding construction marketer - well done Jack and good luck!

#8 Chris Ashworth – Managing Director at Competitive Advantage

Well-travelled and well experienced.

Chris has worked in construction marketing for 40 years and founded his own company Competitive Advantage where he has worked with both large blue-chip companies and smaller companies with their own niches, helping them to engage with specifiers.

Chris also takes part in many initiatives to encourage marketing best practices including the Charted Institute of Marketing Construction Industry Group and the Construction Marketing Awards. 

Whilst the heavy blow of the pandemic during and after 2020 and the uncertainty of lockdowns causing travel and work restrictions across the company, Chris believes there are some definite opportunities for construction marketers in 2022, 

These include:

• The integration of virtual engagement into the overall marketing plan. But face to face contact remains important.
• Manufacturers and suppliers must ensure that the information they provide is accurate and complete or suffer the consequences.
• Supply channels are changing with new ways to purchase and deliver products. 

Chris says "The company that stays with its traditional practices can expect to lose market share but there are great opportunities for those who adopt, adapt and improve."

Scary words for the stagnant minded construction product business? - perhaps. But an even greater opportunity for those focused on growth.

Get following!

#9 Christina Leia Riley – Senior Planner at Quinn London

UK Construction Week’s role model of the year, Christina is all about breaking boundaries within the industry and my goodness has she done that!

Christina's portfolio is extensive and full of well-deserved awards ranging from the Corporate Rising Star Award at the 2017 British LGBT awards, 2019 Diva Power list, 2020 Global winner at Engineering, the list goes on. She is a force to be reckoned with.

Christina is an experienced senior planner with 28 years of experience working in the top 10 Tier 1 contractors in sectors such as Health & Science, Education, Retail, Leisure, Residential and Commercial. She recently joined Quinn London LTD in 2021 and is currently delivering projects for hospital charities and museums.

She constantly advocates for diversity, co-founding the Building equality network and co-chairing the diversity expert panel for CIOB. Christina frequently speaks on panels at events talking about diversity and inclusion opening up doors for the many who come from diverse backgrounds.

#10 Susan Milne – CEO at Ephiphany Studio

Susan is the CEO of Epiphany Studio, a marketing agency for architectural products, built on how specifiers think and the way architects and designers make decisions. They Strive to help both sides of the industry by helping building product companies to get their materials specified as well as helping architects and designers to grow their businesses. 

Whilst Susan claims to be heavily focused on building material sales she also has an emphasis on creativity, having studied at Patt Insitute, she understands the minds of architects and designers allowing her to work well with clients, and it shows by the success of her business. Milne says “companies who understand who architects and designers are and how they think have a distinct advantage over their competitors.” and she has seen this success in recent years through the growth of Ephiphany Studio.

#11 Paul Iddon– Vice President at Manchester Society of Architects

The charismatic and quick-witted architect and consultant you should know.

Paul is one of the only multi-award winning architect and former practice owner in construction marketing. He has over 30 years of experience in architecture, construction and marketing, is the Vice President of the Manchester Society of Architects and a council member of RIBA NW. Paul is highly experienced in business management, strategic branding, B2B comms and other creative skills which make him an exceptional architect.

Paul is also the owner/director of his own agency/consultancy that focuses on architect and specifier engagement with expertise in CPD, Microlearning, Content, Strategy and Research. Since its establishment just before the pandemic, his consultancy has grown steadily across various blue-chip clients.

A passionate advocate of the role of the architect in our society and culture, Paul believes that the profession is "undergoing a paradigm shift" in relevance and function. Whilst acknowledging and welcoming the recent focus on climate change and other social issues, he is unflinching in his view that the primary job of the architect is to create meaning in this most public of artforms - architecture being the highest expression of human civilisation. 

Watch this space!

#12 Emma-Jane Houghton – Commercial Director at New Hospital Programme

Emma leads one of the biggest social infrastructure programmes in the country and is described as passionate and forthright by people in her sector. Since January 2021 she has been with the cabinet office and is the commercial director for the New Hospital programme as well as holding several roles on other major construction schemes and programmes. Emma has also worked on projects such as Heathrow Terminal 5, East London Line Extension and KPMG, just the drive and integrity we need more of in construction!

Emma is passionate, advocating for a different response to 21st-century investments in the built environment, by engaging stakeholders and taking the time to listen to what they have to say. “It is the commercial model and the market and supplier engagement that makes all of this happen.”

#13 Noble Francis – Economics Director at CPA & Honorary Professor at Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, UCL

Noble was appointed honorary professor at the Bartlett School of construction and project management at UCL and with 15 years of experience creating economic forecasts with his team, you’ve probably seen his work featured in the financial times and other daily papers.

Noble takes part in many seminars including UK Construction Week and has industry knowledge in Economics, business strategy, quantitative analytics and forecasting. He oversees the most respected and well-known economist teams in the industry.

Noble is a charismatic and skilled orator able to crunch complex construction data and communicate it in an easily understandable way accompanied by a sharp and witty delivery. If you want to learn above the economics behind construction without regretting it soon after due to the constant migraines - Noble is your man.

#14 Rion Willard– Director of Consulting and Business Transformation at Business of Architecture

Rion Willard is an architect turned architecture business consultant and he has worked for international Architecture firms such as Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, and Sir Nicholas Grimshaw where he was involved in numerous incredible projects such as Old Burlington Street luxury residential, The Macallan Whiskey distillery, and work on major international airports such as Gatwick and Heathrow.

It’s safe to say Rion is an accomplished architect. His extensive background working with some of the world’s best designers means his advice and guidance comes from a place of experience and authority, and this is the case when it comes to The Business of Architecture.

Rion co-founded The Business of Architecture to serve the Architectural industry to enable Architects to run profitable, impactful & innovative practices. Architects dedicate a huge amount of time to designing projects to answer complex client briefs, but in doing this they neglect the running of their own business.

In this weekly Podcast, Rion interviews Industry thought leaders about their winning strategies and ideas for business and design. If you’re an independent developer architect, business mentor and advisor, or run your own practice this podcast is a must!

#15 Simon Rhodes – group sales director at built environment networking

Simon is accomplished with 25 years of experience under his belt, 20 of those working at Barbour ABI, and is constantly developing sales strategies and executing plans to achieve his targets. His industry knowledge includes B2B, contract management, business strategy and sales process.

Simon was appointed Group sales director for Built Environment Networking Ltd in July 2021 as Simon points out “some people may feel it a strange decision to join what was known as a face to face events business during a lockdown!” but it seems to be working! The business was able to hold over 500 events between March 2020 and September 2021 by adapting to online events and creating a platform for networking.

If you didn't think construction was going digital, let Simons experience be an example.

Simon goes on to say “this innovative approach runs through the business as does a spirit of disruption” Simon states “traditionally the biggest events in real estate and infrastructure investment have been accused of lacking in diversity, inclusivity and accessibility.  We are launching a major 3-day event in May this year in Leeds called UKREiiF which challenges all of those issues.” The biggest property event of the year with support from local and national governments, UK based and international investors and other developers and end users. It's an event full of learning and opportunity and one you must attend!

Simon then said "Events like these show we can challenge the status quo and gives me the enthusiasm and energy after 26 years with my previous business to go again!” Words of a man of a mission, no doubt.

#16 Emily Cardy – Assistant Site Manager at ISG

Midlands winner of 2020 women in property awards, Emily has a strong passion for the property industry and it shows in her work ethic and feature in Construction Manager magazine as “one to watch” for 2022. We had to add her to our list.

Emily had an interesting route to construction, becoming interested in the property after buying her first house she then began working for local property maintenance and electrical firm where she quickly progressed to contracts and management. She then went back to study building surveying at NTU and has been involved in the CIOB global student challenge.

#17 Rebecca De Cicco – Non-Executive Director and Chair at Aurecon

Dedicated to learning and a strong advocate of diversity founding Women in BIM which extends to the UK, Europe, United States, Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East and South-East Asia. The organisation works with other women to support career development, share knowledge and skills and a focus on gender equality.

Rebecca began her career as an architect in Australia before moving into technology and BIM related roles and has been involved in many projects across the UK, also presenting at industry events speaking on BIM and the importance of the Government BIM Policy.

In 2012 Rebecca broke barriers for women in the built environment by founding the global community 'Woman in BIM', in response to the growing need for more women in the industry as well as her own passions for diversity. The group has thousands of members with regional representatives all over the globe.

#18 Ross Sturley – Head of Marketing at Akabo Media

After a short career in the entertainment industry, Ross took an unexpected turn, moving to business to business media to serve sectors such as property, construction, science and hospital management. 

Ross leads with the Construction Marketing Awards and regularly writes for the news section on the official CMA site keeping readers up to date with current news and trends for construction marketing insights. As well as this he has worked with Construction News, Architects’ journal, New Civil Engineer and many other magazines and media.

Ross states “A career in the media is fascinating for the insight it gives you into other people's marketing efforts and is thus the ideal life for a nosy parker.” Call it nosy or call it hunger for knowledge Ross is a friendly professional doing his part to peddle construction in the right direction

#19 Brogan MacDonald – Structural Engineer at Ramboll

Let me propose a question. Can you be a structural engineer if you failed physics in school?

The answer is yes, and we have the perfect example in Brogan MacDonald, who once was told by a lecturer that she was too “arty” to be an engineer.

Currently working in world-leading projects with top brands, Brogan is a successful structural engineer at Ramboll, committed to the involvement of younger generations in STEM. An inspiring role model for the youth and a formidable Engineer in construction.

Her take on structural engineering as a creative, inspiring, and change-driving discipline has taken her to be named among the top 50 Women in Engineering and Sustainability in 2020 and to be awarded the WICE Best Young Woman Engineer 2020 prize. She believes that the construction industry requires a radical transformation in the next 5 years and highlights the role of the construction industry to attract the next generation of engineers.

Let's see what Brogan accomplishes in 2022!

#20 Carol Massay – Head of Construction at The Access Group

With 30 years of experience in the construction industry, Carol knows what it means starting off from nothing and growing. Throughout her career, she has worked across different roles, with the opportunity to experience the sector from all its perspectives. She admires the transformation that the industry has undergone in the last year, with a technological revolution that she sees indispensable.

Aware of how unattractively the construction sector has been portrayed in the past, Carol is devoted to sharing the opportunities available in the industry so younger generations stop shying away from a sector that has a wide variety of opportunities. She encourages women to step into the construction industry, promoting diversity and helping women feel more confident in traditionally male-dominated environments.

She was recently awarded the price of Construction Businesswoman of the Year 2021 organised by The Great British Businesswoman Awards.

Way to go Carol!

#21 Fionn Stevenson – Professor of Sustainable Design at the University of Sheffield

Passionate about sustainable architecture, Professor Stevenson considers climate literacy should be part of any syllabus. She believes there is a need to change the industry’s perspective, helping architects and the wider public the impact architectural design has on the planet. This change, in addition, must be intersectional, involving the integration of design and social justice.

With over 120 scientific publications, Professor Stevenson focuses her research on sustainable housing design, providing government policies with guidance. She has also authored a book on “Housing Fit for Purpose: performance, feedback and learning”, published by RIBA in 2019, considered the first book to cover Building Performance Evaluation in use specifically for housing.

#22 Brent Toderian – City Planner and Urbanist at TODERIAN UrbanWORKS

Throughout his professional career of over 28 years, Brent Toderian has become an internationally respected city planner, urbanist, and consultant. His experience has allowed him to be the only radio columnist in Canada focused on construction. Brent’s main focus lies on advanced urbanism, out-of-the-box policies, and much needed change-inducing conversations within the built environment.

Despite having collaborated in projects worldwide, Brent maintains a strong commitment with Vancouver, the city by design, and has been involved in new strategies for multi-modal mobility and transit-oriented development that will allow this city to strengthen its characteristic nature.

Brent ranks number 1 in the world on the Top 500 influencers and players active on Twitter in Architecture, Design & Engineering, Property, Planning, Development & Construction a leaderboard that ranks people and organisations on the basis of scores that measure interactions and influence across social media, with the metrics provided predominantly by Kred, plus an additional custom element. With 116K followers on Twitter, Brent is a real player globally for construction influencers to follow. Check his Twitter out here.

#23 Dusty Gedge - President, European Federation of Green Roof and Green Wall Associations (EFB)

Now, we all understand the opportunity and challenges proposed by sustainability and compliance. However, when you have people like Dusty leading the way it makes your jobs a whole lot simpler. Urban ecologist and budding wildlife enthusiast Dusty is all about green infrastructure.

The President of the European Federation of Green Roof and Green Wall Associations is passionate about providing a better quality of living by adopting green roofs into builds across town and cities in Europe and helping with climate change. Dusty is an expert in the field and speaks at many international events on green roofs, green infrastructure and biodiversity.

Dusty spends his workday designing innovative green roofs and wetland green roofs and inspecting roofs across the UK that are deemed to have failed, offering solutions to fix any issues. In addition, he regularly promotes sustainable living and green infrastructure on his social media channels.

An active LinkedIn user, often posting helpful and green content, Dusty is a must follow!

#24 David Cant - Founder, Veritas Consulting

Helping the built environment get safety right. David has been in the industry for over 20 years and is the founder of Veritas Consultancy which has expertise in workplace health and safety.

David has made a name for himself for being a trusted source for safety and risk management and with his own experience in both sides of the industry David is able to communicate and advise businesses without all the unnecessary jargon. “It's fascinating that people do a great job of making it seem all about rules, regulations, and paperwork, and more complicated than it needs to be.”

For the past year, David has been writing his own blog posts giving practical insights and guidance on risk management strategies as well as frequently posting on his own social channels sharing small tips and tricks as well as conversation starters.

"You have 1 safety system. You have 100 employees. You have 100 different IQs." Isn't time construction took safety seriously? Get following!

#25 Ann McNeill – CEO at M.C.O. & Founder of The National Association of Black Women in Construction

Last but certainly not least, Ann McNeil.

Better known as “The Master Builder Building Stronger and Better Lives”, Ann is the president/CEO of MCO construction, the first African American female-owned construction company in the state of Florida. She is also the founder of the national association of black women in construction whose aim is to build lasting strategic partnerships and innovative solutions for black women in construction and other respective communities.

Ann frequently speaks at conferences has been featured multiple times in newspapers and magazines and has also been the cover story for USA Today, Black Enterprise and ABC World News. Ann has oped up doors for many African American women who have an interest and passion for working in the male-dominated industry and takes pleasure in watching other women grow in the industry.

Should you be on this list? If so please don't hesitate to reach out. We'd love to hear your story! Just click here😊

About Insynth

Insynth Marketing is a leading UK construction marketing agency based in Shifnal in the West Midlands. 

They use the latest inbound marketing techniques such as construction inbound marketing, to support building product companies to grow their business by proactively driving sales lead generation activity. 

As the only HubSpot certified agency to major on construction marketing, we bring together construction marketing strategy, digital strategy, website design, SEO, content marketing, email marketing, sales automation, marketing automation and HubSpot CRM implementation to produce successful campaigns and great results for our clients.

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