“ I ’ m a Bristol boy !” Lawrence reveals , although he ’ s far from the Southwest of England now . “ That ’ s right ,” he says , “ I ’ ve probably lived over half of my life outside of the UK , first moving abroad to Germany when I was 27 . I was there for around five years , fully immersing myself in the culture and speaking the language every day .

“ By the time I ’ d left , my friends and colleagues were already picking up on the strange Euro-mix accent I had started to adopt ,” Lawrence recalls . “ Then I moved to the US , and I ’ ve been here ever since , starting in Ohio and then moving to Colorado .”

His backstory reflects the breadth of work he has carried out for Trimble , an industrial technology company transforming the construction industry with cuttingedge software solutions that enable customers to enhance their practices and form a more unified business strategy .

Now clocking up his third relocation with the firm , Lawrence began at Trimble nearly 24 years ago as Product Manager . In the ensuing decades , he worked in a variety of roles , and now serves as Vice President and General Manager , Construction Management Solutions ( Viewpoint and MEP ). A mouthful , he admits , but it shows the incredible trajectory he ’ s experienced at the American industrial software leader .

Every company that I have interacted with over the past few years shares this common concern : attaining and retaining skilled labor

In the years prior to his appointment at Trimble , Lawrence worked for companies that were acquired by the tech giant , so it ’ s safe to say , he knows a thing or two about the convergence between construction and technology .

Speaking of the latter , I ’ m curious to understand the Viewpoint and MEP aspect of his title , as they sound like proprietary items of technology . “ Yes ,” Lawrence answers with a wide smile . Indeed , he admits he ’ s always been fascinated with construction , watching buildings being slowly assembled and erected , the complexity of each individual project . In this way , he believes Trimble ’ s ancillary work is “ a noble cause .”

“ Viewpoint is part of the Trimble business centered around ERP , or Enterprise Resource Planning , and operational management ,” he circles back . “ Whereas our MEP business is twinned with our General Contracting ( GC ) pre-construction business , offering myriad construction management solutions .”

Impacting industry

A career such as Lawrence ’ s provides a unique insight into the state of the construction industry , its history of technological intervention , and the efficacy and accessibility of digitization and software solutions .

“ It ’ s been a pleasure and a privilege to watch that change and witness the adoption of nascent technology , including some of Trimble ’ s own software , and the impacts it has had on the industry ,” he says .

Main interview

“ There have been some really exciting pieces of tech that have come out along the way , and you can quite clearly see the difference they ’ ve created within the marketplace . One particularly close to my heart was the use of robotic tool stations and layout technologies , taking

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