'Wonderboy' Jason Millett takes on expanded role, as key director Les Chatfield stays 'for foreseeable future'.
Bovis Lend Lease is about to carry out a group shake-up that could lead to the promotion of one of its rising young stars.

Jason Millett, aged 38, who is regional director of the North, is expected to take an expanded role under the shake-up, most probably heading UK operations.

A spokesperson for Bovis Lend Lease confirmed that the senior management board was undertaking a review of the company structure.

He said: "The company is going through a process of looking at the organisation and ethos."

However, in a further statement on Wednesday, the firm stressed that the shake-up would not prompt the departure of director Les Chatfield, who was thought to be leaving in the summer.

The statement said: "As far as we are concerned, Les Chatfield will remain with us for the foreseeable future, and will remain on the board and continue to liaise with key clients."

On the issue of the restructuring, however, the spokesperson stressed that the process was still in its early stages and that things would be subject to change. He added that announcements would wait until the decisions had been made internally.

An industry source said that it was always apparent that Millett was destined for promotion within the group. The source said: "Millett is very much a rising star." Another source added: "He's the wonderboy at Bovis right now."

A source close to Bovis added: "John Spanswick [head of Lend Lease Europe] is looking to reshape the European business to move to a sector-driven focus. The firm is realigning to follow the way the market is going."

Bovis' key markets include health and defence PFI as well as the commercial and retail sectors.

好色先生TV profiled Jason Millett in a story in July 2000, which featured 40 rising stars under the age of 40.

At the time, Millett, then 35, had headed the Bovis office in his home town of Manchester for more than two years and picked up a gold medal in the Chartered Institute of 好色先生TV's 好色先生TV Manager of the Year awards for his work on the Forster Square development in Bradford.

Millett said at the time that he hoped to change the construction industry for the better within 10 years. He described his role at Bovis then as more "business management" than "pure construction".