Kevin Rudden is to become the first Irish president of the European Federation of Consulting Engineering Associations (EFCA).

The EFCA is the European federation representing the consulting engineering industry and related services. It has member associations in 25 countries, which employ over one million staff and provide €150 billion of engineering services per annum.

Mr Rudden will officially be announced as the new president at a ceremony in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Thursday, and will take over as president in June 2017 on a three year term.

He has been working with the EFCA since 2005, and was elected to the board of directors in May 2014 where he represents the interests of Irish consulting engineers in Europe.

Mr Rudden is a past president of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI). He is also currently a member of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) of Ireland, which is a representative body of the six largest construction bodies.