Mechanic’s son cashing in on the property crisis
A MOTOR racing fanatic who left school at 17, Jeff Fairburn always wanted to work with his hands.
The boss, whose father was a mechanic, trained as a quantity surveyor and took a building course at a college in his home city of York before working his way up from building site to boardroom.
Mr Fairburn, 51, has a reputation for modesty despite the vast bonus coming his way.
He is known to shun the Lamborghinis and Rolls-Royces of other executives for a Ford Fiesta and he also once booked a family camping holiday near Silverstone to watch the British Grand Prix.
He bought the family home in Durham for £1million and sent his three children to comprehensive schools.
Mr Fairburn joined Persimmon in 1989 and four years later married wife Jayne, a treasurer for Pancreas North, a pancreatitis support group, in Sunderland.
The boss survived the financial crisis, in which Persimmon sacked 2,000 of its 50,000 staff.
He secured the top job in 2013, and has presided over booming profits and bonuses.
Mike Killoran, 56, is the finance director of Persimmon, having worked his way through jobs in manufacturing, distribution and retail before joining the housebuilder in 1996. Born in Leeds, he studied at Sheffield University and is a chartered accountant. He is a member of the risk committee at Persimmon, where colleagues speak highly of his financial skills.
Dave Jenkinson is the group managing director of Persimmon. The 50-year-old joined the company’s board four years ago after previously holding various senior roles, including managing its north east business and being a regional managing director.
When being grilled in the past by MPs about why housebuilding in the UK has not hit targets, he has argued protections on Green Belt land should be rolled back so more homes could be built.