Greg Hayden, CEO of Ethos Engineering Consultancy, will serve as Judge for the Irish Construction Industry Awards 2026, bringing extensive multidisciplinary engineering leadership and strategic growth expertise to the evaluation of entries competing for recognition in construction excellence and innovation.

A Chartered Engineer with MBA qualification, Greg Hayden has built a distinguished career leading Ethos, a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy delivering data centre and critical infrastructure projects across EMEA. His role spans strategic leadership, business development, and operational direction across a geographically distributed organisation. Since 2024, with backing from Exponent Private Equity, Greg has accelerated growth through both organic development and strategic acquisitions, expanding Ethos' capability and market reach.

Greg's acquisition strategy, acquiring SimStudios in the Netherlands, 3DEC in the UK, MEPCO in Lithuania, and Hanley Pepper in Ireland, demonstrates sophisticated understanding of market consolidation, capability integration, and geographic expansion. Rather than purely financial deals, these acquisitions broadened Ethos' expertise and service offerings, enabling multidisciplinary support across complete project lifecycles. This integration capability reflects understanding that acquisition success depends on cultural alignment, technical capability combination, and client value creation.

Today Ethos employs more than 400 people operating across 21 countries within EMEA, headquartered at Bankside in Dublin 2. This scale and geographic spread position Greg to evaluate construction and engineering entries with understanding of international standards, competitive positioning, and how Irish organisations compete within broader European markets. His leadership of rapid organisational growth whilst maintaining technical excellence and client focus demonstrates capability managing complexity and scaling operations.

Greg's board positions on Digital Infrastructure Ireland and the FIRST Q European Engineering Network reflect active engagement in shaping digital infrastructure and engineering sector direction. These roles position him at the intersection of industry strategy, policy development, and technical standard-setting. His influence on sector-wide initiatives demonstrates standing and vision extending beyond individual organisational success toward broader sector advancement.

Greg Hayden's role as Judge ensures the Irish Construction Industry Awards 2026 maintains evaluation standards recognising not only technical project excellence but also strategic leadership, organisational growth, and international competitiveness. His expertise will guide fair, credible recognition of entries demonstrating both delivery excellence and sector-wide strategic significance.

Visit the official Irish Construction Industry Awards website to view award categories and the shortlist to explore finalists by category. Subscribe to the newsletter for ceremony updates, finalist spotlights, and exclusive event coverage.