Own The Build
Own the Build is the podcast for Quantity Surveyors and Commercial Directors who want to sharpen their commercial edge and lead with confidence.
Hosted by Paul Heming, former Commercial leader and now co-founder of C-Link, each week’s conversation dives into the realities of modern commercial management — from procurement and contracts to digital transformation and leadership in construction.
Through honest discussions with industry leaders, forensic planners, and forward-thinking QSs, Paul explores how the best commercial teams deliver profit, performance, and project certainty in a changing industry.
If you’re serious about mastering the commercial side of construction — this is where you build your advantage.
Own The Build
Own the Build Leadership Series #2:Chris Hartley, Former Commercial Director at McLaren Construction (£1bn+ Contractor)
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In the second episode of the Own the Build Leadership Series, Paul is joined by Chris Hartley, former Commercial Director at McLaren Construction, a £1bn+ main contractor, and now a business change consultant and quantum expert.
Chris shares a deeply reflective account of his journey from early career QS to leading commercial teams of more than 50 people — and what that experience taught him about trust, detail, leadership and decision-making at scale.
Rather than a linear career story, this conversation focuses on the realities of commercial leadership: earning trust through technical credibility, knowing when to empower people to make mistakes, and why the best Commercial Directors never lose touch with the fundamentals of construction.
The discussion explores:
- why mastery of detail is the foundation of commercial authority;
- the transition from “doing” to leading — and why people skills become decisive;
- building high-performing commercial teams in large, complex organisations;
- how trust is given, earned and sometimes rebalanced;
- the role of information quality in better commercial decisions;
- freeing up QS time from administration to focus on commercial judgement; and
- what world-class commercial leadership looks like in 2026 and beyond.
Chris also reflects on succession planning, developing future leaders, and why rushing progression without grounding ultimately limits long-term impact.
This episode is a thoughtful, experience-led perspective on Commercial Directorship — essential listening for QSs with leadership ambitions and senior commercial professionals looking to sense-check what good really looks like at the top.
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📥 Plus: Grab Paul’s free new eBook Mastering Construction Procurement — link below:
Want to connect with Paul?
Paul is on Linkedin here and would love to talk. You can also connect with Paul at paul@c-link.com or through, C-Link.
C-Link is software built by Quantity Surveyors for Quantity Surveyors. We save 600 hours of Quantity Surveying time per project in automation. We can make your QS’ so much more efficient.
Watch the Video to learn more; you can book a demo by clicking here.
