A former Royal Marine who has risen through the ranks to become a Vistry Group director has landed a prestigious national award.
Kage Brennan, who spent four years in the Armed Services, was named Young Leader of the Year at the annual British Ex-Forces in Business Awards.
The 31-year-old picked up the award at a ceremony in London attended by hundreds of past and present members of the armed services community.
Southampton based Kage is a construction director with Drew Smith – part of the Vistry Group.
The awards were set up in 2018 by the Disruptive Media Group and annual events are held in London and Glasgow.
This year’s 200-strong shortlist was chosen from more than 700 nominations from across the UK and across all sectors of the business community.
Kage, who was one of six Vistry employees nominated for an award, said: “It was an honour to be nominated but I never expected to win the award. Winning the award was a very special moment and one I will remember for a long time.
“Vistry Group and Drew Smith have demonstrated a lot of faith in me, and my aim is to continue delivering a great service and great homes for all of our customers.
“The Royal Marines helped me to develop as an individual and as a leader. It also instilled in me the importance of maintaining the very highest standards in everything I do both as an individual and as part of a team.”
Kage joined Drew Smith in 2015 as a site manager and in his second year working in the industry he won a highly coveted National Home Building Council’s Pride in the Job Quality Award.
In 2018, he was promoted to the role of contracts manager looking after three projects which saw him help deliver 250 new homes for the open market and for three housing associations.
In 2021 he took on the role of Drew Smith’s construction manager, where he was responsible for overseeing 18 sites across the south of England and earlier this year he was promoted to the role of construction director.
His dedication and enthusiasm have helped him to become one of the youngest construction directors in the industry.
The Ex-Forces in Business Awards is the world’s largest event of its kind and was set up to recognise the efforts of industry in supporting people from a military background.
They also recognise the work of businesses who support former people who make the often difficult transition out of the military into civilian life.
Vistry Group, which employs more than 3,000 staff in 23 business units across the country has a proud record when it comes to supporting those from an ex-forces background. It employs more than 100 ex-servicemen and women across the business.
Bovis Homes – which is part of the Vistry Group - was awarded the Ministry of Defence’s Gold Award for the Employer Recognition Scheme in 2019.
It first signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2016 and was the first dedicated housebuilder to receive the Gold Award.
Vistry Group re-signed the covenant last year to reaffirm its commitment to the armed forces, including providing employment opportunities and helping those connected to the military onto the housing ladder.
Vistry has been working with industry organisation BuildForce which offers assistance to service personnel looking for a change in career. The business also supports former servicemen and women through its network of skills academies.
The academies were set up with the aim of tackling the nationwide skills shortage in the construction industry.
Visit vistrygroup.co.uk to find out more.