De Boer appoints leader for London 2012 Olympics

Temporary structures and events rental company De Boer has appointed Edward Gallagher, a former local government manager in east London, to lead the company's efforts to win contracts on the London 2012 Olympics.

Mr Gallagher was previously a senior manager at the Olympic Host Boroughs Unit (HBU), an organisation formed by the local authorities in London to ensure that east London residents and businesses will benefit from the games.

He will be responsible for all aspects of managing and developing the company's relationships with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games as well as the five London boroughs who are hosting the games.

De Boer UK's managing director, Peter Spruce, said Mr Gallagher's appointment was an important addition to the company's management team; "London 2012 offers an excellent opportunity for De Boer to develop its business in the UK market, and at the same time to showcase the quality of our structures on another world stage.

"Since London successfully won the bid to host the 2012 Games, Edward has been liaising with all the major organisations and interested parties that will be working to deliver a fantastic Olympics. His skill and knowledge will be invaluable as we seek to develop strong Olympic partnerships and deliver key infrastructure for the Games."

Meanwhile, various press organisations have been reporting that De Boer has entered a joint venture with Beijing Urban Construction Group to recycle many of the temporary structures used at the Beijing Olympic Games. IRN understands that many of the 31 competition venues and supporting security and broadcast facilities at Beijing were temporary structures that were designed for re-use.