Sitting in his office behind Victoria station in London, Ian Tyler, Balfour Beatty's chief executive of three months, exudes an air of calm efficiency. It is not surprising that he feels comfortable in the top position: he has been groomed for it since his predecessor Mike Welton promoted him to chief operating officer in July 2002. Tyler says his plans for the giant contractor are to stick to its construction roots and geographical markets so as to maintain its strong financial position. Balfour, which has high-profile projects such as BAA's Terminal 5 to its name, made an underlying pre-tax profit of ￡150m in 2004, up 15 on 2003.
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