Get ready to get to know the incredible people behind Merit in our exciting new series – Meet the Team! We’re kicking things off with our CEO, Tony Wells. Discover more about Tony and what makes our team so special below.
What is it like being you (and doing your job)?
I enjoy my role as CEO of Merit now more so than any other time in my professional career. Every day is different. I’m surrounded by clever people who enjoy change, the pace of innovation is rapid, nothing stays the same and the pace of learning is accelerating the faster as we grow – we finally have a successful company with a ‘start-up’ feel.
Why did you choose construction as a career?
I was originally at British Steel as an Electrical & Controls Engineer and then moved into the Semiconductor manufacturing industry and led world-wide benchmarking into wafer fab capital cost reduction and industrial engineering.
In 1996 the UK wafer fab I worked at closed and I had the choice to stay in semiconductors and go to Singapore or move into cleanroom facility construction with a large contractor, the latter is the path I chose. After 2 successful UK/US start-ups, winning & delivering $300m of projects in China and the US, I decided to do it for myself – I quit and took over Merit in 2002.
What are you most proud of in your career to date?
The easiest answer would be to say winning Northeast company of the year in 2018, because that was pretty special. We won that award based on a business model that we were in the process of reinventing, and therefore deciding to have the courage to go our own way with the development of a bespoke platform design for construction is the thing I personally feel happiest about.
How has your industry evolved in the last decade and what changes do you see in the next decade?
On a global scale, the construction industry is famous for effectively fighting change. It stubbornly refuses to reinvent itself into a manufactured product-based approach believing itself to be unique.
Across the world, construction has failed to integrate digital technologies and automation into its delivery model, and unlike every other industry, it is becoming more labour-intensive, not less. This has led to stagnation in productivity growth and with it, unaffordability of construction projects.
We at Merit, are endeavouring to make a transformational change in the way that we deliver new projects. So although the last 10 years in the construction industry look identical to the decades before, we hope that the next 10 years will be entirely unrecognisable, defined by efficiency and innovation that will also ensure a zero carbon ethos across the sector.
What single piece of advice would you give to someone starting out in your profession?
There’s a huge opportunity to transform the construction industry – so don’t go with the flow, always look to innovate.
Do you have a life philosophy?
Pack everything possible into every day – don’t waste a moment!
How do you unwind outside work?
Outside of work, I race European Le Mans series sport cars which is great fun and a privilege. I enjoy spraying champagne on the podium and collecting the occasional trophy!
Favourite book and box set?
On the business side, I like Robert Ringer – his book “Winning Through Intimidation”, which I will emphasise is not about intimidating to win but winning in spite of intimidation.
On more recreational topics, my favourite book is “Caverns measureless to man“, by Sheck Exley, which is just the most amazing cave diving book.
On box sets, Boston Legal is one I would recommend – hilariously funny, but lots of innovative problem-solving at the same time.