Claire Haigh
Chief Executive
Greener Journeys

Claire Haigh is Chief Executive of Greener Journeys, a coalition of the UK's major public transport groups and other supporters committed to encouraging people to make more sustainable travel choices. Her other current roles include: Director of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, and Advisor on the Board of Transport for Greater Manchester. She is also a regular columnist for the monthly magazine Transport Times.

Claire was previously Project Director for Journey Solutions, where she was responsible for the creation and implementation of PLUSBUS – the national integrated bus/rail ticket. Other previous roles include Sales Director for the Chameleon Press printing company. She read History and German at Magdalen College Oxford, and began her career in advertising working as an Account Executive for DDB. Her interests include her work as an artist, for which she has had several solo exhibitions in central London. She also has links with a number of charitable organisations including CRISIS, for which she is a Community Ambassador.

She is Chartered Fellow (FCILT) of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and a Fellow of (FRSA) of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers & Commerce.

Giles Fearnley
Managing Director – UK Bus
FirstGroup Plc

In 1991 Giles Fearnley led the management buy-out of Blazefield Holdings which operated bus networks principally across Yorkshire and Lancashire. He remained as Chief Executive for two years following the Group's sale to Transdev plc in 2006. In the mid 90's, Giles took a "sabbatical" into the rail industry and was one of the founders of Prism Rail PLC, which came to operate four passenger rail franchises in the UK. He was appointed its Chief Executive in 1997 and led the Group prior to its sale in 2000 to National Express. Most recently he served as Chairman of Grand Central, the open access rail operator prior to its sale to DB in 2011.

Until January 2011 Giles was Chairman of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, having also been a past President of the organisation. He is also past Chairman of the Association of Train Operating Companies. He formerly chaired Journey Solutions, the bus and rail industry initiative to promote integration and also chairs Greener Journeys, the UK bus and coach industry's campaign to promote modal shift from cars to buses and coaches.

Giles joined FirstGroup in February 2011 as its Managing Director responsible for their UK Bus division which:

• Has 6,500 buses
• Around 21% of UK market share outside London
• transports 2.3 million passengers a day
• 17,500 employees.

David Brown
Chief Executive
Go-Ahead Group Plc

David is Chief Executive of The Go-Ahead Group. Go-Ahead is one of the UK's leading providers of quality public transport employing over 23,500 people and carrying more than one billion passengers each year on its trains and buses. Go-Ahead has a 30% share of all rail passenger journeys made in the UK on its three train operating companies. It operates bus companies across the UK from as far afield as Newcastle to Plymouth and is the largest bus operator in London.

David has held a number of senior positions in the transport industry including MD of Berks Bucks Bus Co Ltd, Chief Executive of Go-Ahead's London Bus division and MD for Surface Transport at Transport for London. At TfL he had a diverse range of responsibilities including London Buses (one of the world's largest urban bus networks), managing London's Red Route road network, congestion charging, and he introduced the Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme.

Stephen Joseph
Executive Director
Campaign for Better Transport

Stephen Joseph has led Campaign for Better Transport for more than 25 years. His wide-ranging expertise has been instrumental in numerous high profile campaigns and has made the organisation the country's leading transport charity.

A champion for better, more sustainable transport policy, he has frequently been called on to advise national government and is a regular in the national media.

He was awarded the OBE in 1996 for services to transport and the environment, and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire in November 2010.

Professor David Begg (Chair)
Chief Executive
Transport Times

Prof David Begg is Chief Executive of Portobello Partnership Ltd which specialises in strategic advice to clients in the transport sector; publishes Transport Times magazine; and runs a series of transport best practice awards in conjunction with the Department for Transport, Transport Scotland and Transport for London.

He is a non-executive board member of Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd and is a member of the Cubic Transportation Systems' Advisory Board.

From 1999 to 2005 he chaired the Government's Commission for Integrated Transport which was set up to advise the Government on transport policy and to monitor performance. He was a board member of Transport for London from 2000 to 2006 before joining Tube Lines as chairman (2006-2010). He was a non-executive director of the Strategic Rail Authority and before that British Rail. From 2005-2014 David was a Non-Executive Director of First Group Ltd.

Before moving to London he was Professor of Transport Policy at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. He is a visiting professor in Transport at Plymouth University. In the 1990s he was the political lead on transport on Lothian Region and then the City of Edinburgh councils.

Robert Hough
Chairman
Liverpool City Region LEP

Robert Hough is currently a non-executive Director of Peel Holdings and Chairman of Peel Airports, as well as non-executive Director of Styles & Wood Group PLC. He is also serving as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors of the University of Manchester.

He joined Peel Holdings as Director in 1986 and was Executive Deputy Chairman from 1989 to 2009, and was Chairman of the Manchester Ship Canal from 1987-2002. He is currently Chairman of Liverpool Airport Limited.

He has also served on the Board of many companies listed on The Stock Exchange, including Alfred McAlpine PLC and Provident Financial and as Chairman of the Cheshire Building Society.

Previously, Robert has held a number of different posts, including as a member of the North West Business Leadership Team from 2000-2009 and its Chairman for over three years until 2003. He was appointed a Board Member of the Northwest Regional Development Agency in 2007 and became Chairman of the Agency in 2009 until 2012. He was also Chairman of the Organising Committee of Manchester’s Commonwealth Games from 1995-1999 and Chair of the Urban Regeneration Company for New East Manchester from 2002-2009. Robert was also previously a Board Member of the Learning & Skills National Council and a Member of The Northern Way Steering Group.

Robert is a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater Manchester and during 2004-2005 served as the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester. He has received Honorary Doctorates from Manchester Metropolitan University and from the University of Salford.

Drew Hendry MP
Shadow SNP Westminster Group Leader

Drew Hendry is the MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey. He previously represented the Highland Council ward of Aird and Loch Ness, was Leader of the Highland SNP group, SNP National COSLA Group Leader and the Leader of the Highland Council until elected to serve as MP for the area. Drew is a former Director with a multinational appliance manufacturer, having worked his way through a career from shop floor to senior management. He founded Inverness-based Teclan Ltd, the first private sector company in Inverness to commit to paying all staff the Living Wage. He is married to Jackie and has four children.

Just some of the priorities delivered under Drew:

• Implementation of the Living Wage at Highland Council
• Creation of regional Area Committees, localising decision-making
• 100s of additional Council Houses on target to reach 1000 by the end of Council term.
• Secured an extra €30m of European funding for the Highlands, eventually securing €190million over 7years.
• Won Scottish and UK Government support for a 'City Deal' which could attract £300million over 20 years for Inverness and the Highlands

Lilian Greenwood MP (invited)
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

Lilian Greenwood was elected on 6th May 2010 to serve as the Labour Member of Parliament for Nottingham South – which covers the wards of Bridge, Clifton North, Clifton South, Dunkirk and Lenton, Leen Valley, Radford and Park, Wollaton East and Lenton Abbey and Wollaton West.

Lilian is determined to stand up for Nottingham South and has already helped secure £60 million of funding to refurbish the city's train station, an extension to Nottingham's tram network and the upgrading of the A453. As well as this, Lilian has worked with local partners to bring the Nottingham Greener HousiNG11 external wall insulation scheme to Clifton, helped secure funding for Decent Homes in Nottingham and has campaigned to bring about regulation of landlords and Homes of Multiple Occupation. In Parliament, Lilian continues to urge the Government to abolish its divisive bedroom tax and has called on the Prime Minister to stand up to the energy companies and get a better deal for ordinary families.

In October 2010, Lilian was asked to take on the position of Assistant Whip, giving her responsibility for organising other Labour MPs when the party votes in the House of Commons and to assist the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions challenge the Coalition Government and hold them to account over their programme of severe cuts.

In October 2011, the Labour Leader asked Lilian to take on a role in the transport team with responsibility for the local transport brief. In January 2013 she switched to the shadow rail brief.

Robert Montgomery
Managing Director
Stagecoach UK Bus

Bob Montgomery is Managing Director of Stagecoach’s UK Bus Division with responsibility for a business with a turnover of over £1bn, employing 19,000 people and operating over 7,000 buses from over 100 locations across the UK. He is also responsible for the development of the megabus.com express coach operating brand across the UK and Western Europe.

Bob joined the bus industry as a graduate management trainee with the former National Bus Company in 1974 becoming Managing Director of an NBC operating subsidiary in 1983.

Since then he has held a series of senior positions in the bus industry in both the private and public sectors in regulated and deregulated markets, principally in the major urban conurbations of Manchester, Sheffield, Glasgow and Dublin, before joining Stagecoach in 2002.

Prior to appointment to his current role in May 2013, he held the role of Service Performance Director at Stagecoach UK Bus.