Richard Bienfait

Richard Bienfait joined Mace at the end of January 2020 from UPP Group Ltd, where he served as Chief Executive of the UK’s leading provider of on-campus student accommodation. Prior to UPP, Richard held a number of senior executive roles in the infrastructure sector, both as CFO of Veolia Water UK (2004 - 2010) and CEO of Affinity Water (2010 - 2015). Richard additionally has interim CEO responsibility for Mace's development business.

What skills and experience do you bring to your role on the Mace Board?

Aside from the financial acumen and experience of leading organisations in regulated, corporate and private equity environments, I’ve known Mace for the last 14 years, as a key supplier to Veolia Water, Affinity Water and UPP.  The experience allows me to bring an important client perspective that I can share with my colleagues. 

What influenced your decision to join Mace?

I have huge respect for Mace and for what they achieved at Veolia Water, Affinity Water and UPP. As with all good programme and project management, it came down to the individuals but the approach was consistent – Mace was always collaborative and exceptionally client focused which, in particular, really helped to drive transformational change in Affinity Water’s capital delivery programme. That experience, and the admiration I have for how Mace approaches everything with such commitment, is why I joined.

What is important to you in working for a business?

I want to work for a business that contributes to improving our society and respects our environment. It’s always been important to me that I work with businesses that have a great and clear purpose. Mace is a formidable force in shaping our cities and developing sustainable communities, and has the capability and people to effectively contribute to society and to drive transformational change through the sector.