Celebrating the 2026 Emerging Talent Award winners

We’re delighted to announce the winners of the 2026 Emerging Talent Awards, presented live at The UK Concrete Show.

Caption: Our 2026 winners alongside Claire Ackerman, Chief Executive Officer of The Concrete Society, and Richard Bradbury, Managing Director of The QMJ Group.

 

 

Reimagined in partnership with The Concrete Society, the awards recognise professionals aged 30 and under who are already making a meaningful impact across the concrete sector through technical excellence, innovation and leadership.

This year’s entries were of an exceptionally high standard, reflecting the strength and depth of emerging talent across the industry.

 

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2026 Winners 

Harshita Garg, Technical Manager, Brett Concrete

Winner of the Materials Specialist category

Nominated by: John Reddy, President, Institute of Concrete Technology

Harshita was recognised for her technical excellence in concrete mix design, quality control and materials optimisation. In her current role at Brett Concrete, she has helped deliver improvements in material consistency and performance across 19 plants, while also supporting major projects through the use of low-carbon, high-performance and high early-strength concrete. Her nomination also highlighted her wider contribution to the industry through education and outreach.

 

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Steve Brown, Principal Engineer, Ramboll UK

Winner of the Design Excellence category

Nominated by: Simon Banfield, Director, Commercial Sector Lead

Steve was recognised for his role in advancing low-carbon concrete design through his work on One North Quay, Europe’s largest commercial laboratory building. His nomination highlighted the way he has challenged conventional design approaches, helped deliver major embodied carbon savings, and developed new methods for specifying and tracking low-carbon concrete through live project delivery.

 

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Tom Weston, Batching and Quality Control, Essex Precast Ltd

Winner of the Precast & Offsite category

Nominated by: Rob Ingram, Group Sales and Managing Director

Tom was recognised for the impact he has made at Essex Precast’s purpose-built batching facility, TITAN PROCAST. His nomination cited his strong technical awareness, proactive approach and contribution to the successful commissioning of the new plant, where he has helped improve output, efficiency and product quality.

 

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Ansu Mary Alex, Research and Development Associate, Leiths (Scotland) Ltd

Winner of the Sustainability category

Nominated by: John Reddy, President, Institute of Concrete Technology

Ansu was recognised for her work in developing and advancing low-carbon construction materials. Her nomination highlighted her expertise in cement chemistry, alternative binders and environmental assessment, as well as her ability to translate research and innovation into practical, scalable solutions that support Net Zero ambitions across the concrete sector.

 

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Highly Commended

In recognition of the exceptionally high standard of entries, the judging panel also introduced a Highly Commended list to acknowledge further standout submissions.

Design Excellence

Natalia Dziadosz, Structural Design Engineer, Ramboll

 

 

Materials Specialist

Sakshi Singh, Concrete Specialist, ABT

 

 

Materials Specialist

William Brentnall, Graduate Materials Engineer, Balfour Beatty

 

 

Precast & Offsite

Drew Wilkes, Precast Production Supervisor, Wotmix Ltd

 

 

Sustainability

Tom Dillon, Senior Engineer, Ramboll)

 

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A focus on the future workforce

The presentation of the awards followed a dedicated panel session titled Attracting, developing and retaining new talent in the concrete industry.

Claire Ackerman, John Reddy, Lauren Fairley, and Susannah Streeter discuss how the concrete sector can attract, develop, and retain new talent.

Leading industry figures Claire Ackerman, Chief Executive Officer, The Concrete Society; John Reddy, President, Institute of Concrete Technology; and Lauren Fairley, Executive Officer, Concrete Repair Association, explored how the sector is addressing the skills gap, from improving training pathways to supporting long-term career development.

The discussion examined the challenges of sustainability and digitalisation, alongside the role of professional platforms in attracting and retaining new talent, before concluding with the presentation of the awards.

The Emerging Talent Awards provide a national platform for rising professionals, with one overall Emerging Talent of the Year to be announced later this year at The Concrete Society Awards held at The Royal Lancaster London 11th November 2026.