Ian Wylie, Mace co-founder and Deputy Chairman

Ian Wylie, Mace Deputy Chairman and one of the company’s founders, sadly passed away on Thursday 4 July. Ian was an instrumental figure in the success of Mace over the last thirty years and the last of the five founding directors of the business who still worked for the company. 

Ian, alongside other colleagues from Bovis, was part of the team that founded Mace in 1990. They did so off the back of the successful delivery of the Broadgate estate, an iconic project that transformed the City of London, established a new standard for development in the UK and introduced the construction management model to the UK industry.  Ian and his founding colleagues believed in the possibility to do things differently in UK construction and challenging convention. They wanted to change the industry and were dedicated to the pursuit of a better way, which remains the company’s mission to this day.

As Mace grew, Ian took a key role across a huge number of Mace’s high-profile and iconic projects. He led early projects like the construction of the Gatwick South Domestic Terminal - setting new standards for the delivery of complex projects in operational aviation environments - and served as project director for Merrill Lynch’s European HQ building on King Edward’s Street in the City of London.

In 2001 Ian took a non-executive role and stepped back from the day-to-day running of Mace, but that didn’t change the commitment and energy he poured into helping the company become a global success story. Part of that effort including taking responsibility for a huge portion of Mace’s overseas growth in the 2000’s. This included key roles on the construction of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore and the Venetian Cotai in Macau - at the time one of the largest buildings in the world. He was key in building Mace’s reputation as a global project manager that could be trusted with the delivery of some of the most challenging programmes and projects. 

Over the last ten years Ian took a role of strategic counsel for Mace’s leadership team, providing invaluable mentorship and strategic advice to Stephen Pycroft, our Executive Chairman, Mark Reynolds, our Chief Executive and other senior figures from across the company; as well as offering vital advice and guidance on a host of our more complex and challenging projects across the globe. 

His humility, integrity and ability to connect with everyone who met him will never be forgotten at Mace. He was an inspiration to everyone who knew him – his wisdom, experience and ability to motivate everyone was something to behold. He will be sadly missed by all his friends and colleagues. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time.

Mark Reynolds, Mace’s Chief Executive, said: 

“Ian was the reason I joined Mace and was my boss in the early years of my career. Over the years he has been an incredibly important mentor for me and a true friend. He made an impact wherever he went – which is evident in the outpouring of emotion and gratitude that we have seen over the last week. I am proud to have worked for him and with him. He was a true legend of the industry and we’ll all miss him.”