Keller Group CEO, James Wroath, talks about his first impressions of Keller and his vision for growth.
What attracted you to Keller?
First of all, the financial performance of the business has been outstanding. Keller is on a very positive trajectory – we have a solid foundation, a strong balance sheet and good cash generation.
I was also attracted by the focused nature of the business model – we are very clear about what we do and where we do it.
Linked to that, there’s a lot of added value in the company. Even before I joined, it was obvious to me that this is a business full of deep expertise, and our customers truly rely on our people to deliver what they need to make projects successful.
More personally, the global nature of the business presents an interesting leadership challenge – it’s exciting to be responsible for teams around the world and to optimise the organisation across different regions and cultures.
What have been your first impressions of Keller?
As I say, I knew there was a lot of expertise here, but I’ve been bowled over by just how much. There’s also a huge amount of passion – our people really care about their subject matter. And it’s not just seasoned experts. We also have a rich pool of young talent who are given a lot of responsibility early in their careers.
I've tried to get out and about as much as I can. On my visits I’ve found everyone to be welcoming and generous with their time. We work on some incredible projects and have some amazing stories to tell. One of the key challenges for us is how we tell the world more clearly what we do. Our inclination is often to explain what we do from a very technical, engineering, perspective. While that’s obviously critical, our work also has a huge impact on society and people’s lives, so I want us to also focus on the context and what we enable more.
What are the key elements of the Keller strategy?
Our business is very successful. We’ve seen a substantial increase in profits, largely driven by margin improvement, the next stage needs to come from top-line growth. So the big question for me is how do we grow without losing that margin focus? And to what extent do we need acquisitions to enhance organic growth potential?
Firstly, there are opportunities to bring different techniques from around the world to local markets by leveraging our global strength. Secondly, I believe we are in the right geographies, but there are still markets within these where there’s opportunity. Thirdly, is sectors. There are still some end-market customer segments where our products and expertise can win us more business. Acquisitions could accelerate our growth strategy in all these areas.
To be clear, our strategy isn’t about us suddenly doing something completely revolutionary – Keller is a strong business with great products in established geographies. It’s now about strategically placing our investment in areas where we can drive growth.
How do you see the next few years?
Keller has performed very well over the last three years in challenging economic conditions, so imagine what we can achieve in a world where the investment environment is more stable and people are building again.
The economic situation will improve, and our job is to make sure we’re ready and being clear what work is best for us to do. This is one of the great strengths of Keller, knowing where we can generate most margin from the value we deliver. We plan to at least maintain our margins while growing profitably.
What skills and experiences do you bring to the role?
For most of my career I’ve been a leader of large teams – in my early 30s I was leading a team of about 4,000 people. Then at [logistics company] Wincanton, I was responsible for 20,000 people. I enjoy working with big groups of people, and I am motivated by delivering success with them in an organisation where collaboration makes a real difference.
I hope people see me as an authentic leader; I want to foster a culture of trust. I need people to tell me the truth because it’s important for individuals to feel they can speak up. As a leader, if you don’t know what's really going on, then you’re in trouble.
I also have a lot of strategic experience with an operational focus. I’ve worked in businesses like Keller that don’t necessarily require fundamental directional change but do need a more growth orientated strategy and mindset.
What’s your main focus in the coming months?
Firstly, our people – talent, collaboration, communication and performance management. I want to ensure the whole business is on the same page in terms of what we’re trying to deliver, albeit sometimes in different ways in different places.
Secondly, I want to ensure everyone’s hard work is represented in the most positive, inspiring way possible. Keller has a great story to tell; we can do a better job telling it. I’d like people to understand more clearly what we do and where we add value because it will help us to attract investors, customers, and colleagues.
I view my job in two halves: one is internal, driving our people to be more successful, and the other is being the face of our business to the investor market. I want to ensure that our team’s fantastic work is properly represented to the market.
What’s your approach to employee engagement and fostering a company culture?
You have to be consistent with your values and have a leadership group, including me, that lives by them. The values aren't just something you have on a marketing poster and forget about.
I believe there are opportunities for us to be more purposeful in terms of talent and performance management. We have frameworks, but we probably don’t push performance management and career development as much as we could.
What are you most excited about for 2026?
I’m excited to get to know more about the business and meet more people. Every trip I’ve done, every site I’ve visited, has been inspiring.
I’m hopeful the macroeconomic picture will improve, and the opportunities list will get bigger. I'm also excited about putting a little bit more of my own stamp on the business and improving some of the things we do, while maintaining the trajectory of our performance.
What gives you confidence that Keller will achieve its goals?
Because we have the people – people with genuine knowledge and expertise and who care. People are so proud to work for Keller, and many tell me they’ve joined, and stay, because we are seen as the pinnacle in our sector.
That’s a fantastic place to start from and, as a leadership group, our job is to harness that spirit, and to support colleagues towards even greater success.
People often talk about centralised and decentralised business models as if it’s a switch – either one thing or the other. To me, it’s very much a dial. Fundamentally, Keller should be heavily weighted towards decentralised, but there are some things that with a central approach we can create a multiplier effect across the entire group.
Watch our interview with James
