The Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP
Secretary of State for Transport

Chris Grayling was appointed as Secretary of State for Transport on 14 July 2016. He was elected Conservative MP for Epsom and Ewell in 2001. 

Chris served as Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions from May 2010 until September 2012. He was Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice from September 2012 until May 2015, and Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons from May 2015 until 14 July 2016.

He also held a number of shadow front bench posts, including Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Secretary of State for Transport.

The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. Responsibilities include:

• transport strategy, including economic growth and climate change
• spending review
• transport security
• high speed rail (HS2)

David Brown
Chief Executive
Transport for the North

David started in this key appointment in November 2015 and comes as Transport for the North (TfN) works towards the publication in March 2016 of its updated strategy for transforming the Northern economy through significantly enhanced connectivity between the city regions.

Previously, David Brown was Chief Executive and Director General of Merseytravel, Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive for two and a half years and in April 2014 the newly formed Liverpool City Region Combined Authority appointed David as Head of Paid Service where he led the transport elements of the Devolution Deal.

Whilst at Merseytravel David led the devolution of rail franchising into the next Northern and TPE franchises through Rail North; a body representing the Local Transport Authorities in the North of England. He has further developed the Merseyrail concession through infrastructure, services and commenced the procurement of the new Rolling Stock Fleet. Merseytravel has also developed "My Ticket", the best ticketing offer for under 18 year olds outside of London, in addition to the Walrus Card, the largest Smart Ticketing system outside of London.

Prior to Merseytravel, David held the position of Director General at South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), since April 2008, and previously held a number of commercial, operational roles on the railway.

David Chaired pteg (Passenger Transport Executive Group), for two years until January 2015, and he led on all provisions relating to the delivery of bus services in Integrated Transport Authority areas and has developed pteg bus policy.

Professor David Begg
Chief Executive
Transport Times

Professor 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.

Susan Evans
Connected Communities and Devolved Regions Director
Alstom UK & I

Susan Evans is Connected Communities and Devolved Regions Director at Alstom Transport and an Alstom UK Board Member. She has also recently been appointed as Chair-elect of the Board of Trustees for the Community Transport Association, taking over as Chair in November 2016.

Susan has worked at Alstom Transport since 2013 and has, amongst other projects, led the successful delivery of a £450 million extension to the Nottingham tram network. She is responsible for developing and managing Alstom's relationships with transport stakeholders and decision makers working across the devolved regions of the UK; for defining and delivering solutions to the transport needs for the devolved regions; and is also the Executive Sponsor of 'Diversity and Integrity' within the Alstom UK Sustainability strategy.

Prior to her role at Alstom, Susan has held a number of positions across technology research, business development and engineering. Her previous employers include The National Physical Laboratory; and EADS Astrium, a leading aerospace manufacturer of satellites. She has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Loughborough University.

Steve Gillingham
Director of the North
Mace

Steve Gillingham is the Director of the North for Mace, holding responsibility for strategic and operational management of a team of over 150, based in Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh. Steve is also a member of the regional panel advisory board to the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, regional spokesperson for the RICS, Director of the Seashell Trust and an Executive Advisory Board member of Salford Business School.

Paul Griffiths
Phase Two Development Director
HS2 Ltd

Paul joined HS2 Ltd in July 2015 as Phase Two Development Director; he is responsible for the leadership of the team developing the routes and Hybrid Bill documentation for Phase Two from Crewe to Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds.

Prior to joining HS2 Ltd, Paul worked in regional transport and has held Director level positions at both Centro (West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive) and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (now TfGM) where he was responsible for leading the development of their light rail systems and other capital infrastructure investments.

Paul is a civil engineer by training and started his career at British Rail prior to working in consultancy and client roles for a wide range of organisations in the UK and abroad.

Sir Peter Hendy CBE
Chair
Network Rail

Sir Peter Hendy is the Chairman of Network Rail, having joined in July 2015. Sir Peter was previously commissioner of Transport for London (TfL) in 2006, having served since 2001 as TfL's managing director of surface transport. He led, and played a key role in preparing for, the successful operation of London's transport for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He was formerly deputy director UK Bus for FirstGroup and previously MD of CentreWest London Buses. He started his transport career in 1975 as a London Transport graduate trainee. Sir Peter was elected president of the International Public Transport Association (UITP) in May 2013. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transport and a fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was knighted in the 2013 New Year's Honours List, having been made CBE in 2006.

Alex Hynes
Managing Director
Northern, Arriva Rail North Ltd

Alex is the managing director of the Northern rail franchise, operated by Arriva Rail North Ltd, and is leading the Northern team to deliver a major £1 billion investment programme. Alex spent his early career as a consultant for Halcrow Fox and worked with the Office of Rail Regulation before joining the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 as Strategic Planning Manager and, in 2007, as Commercial Director at London Midland, and finally, as Managing Director – Rail Development. Originally from Manchester, Alex is also a board member of the Institution of Railway Operators.

Tim Jackson
Chief Executive
RATP DEV UK

Tim Jackson has been in charge of RATP Dev's UK operations since the beginning of 2014 but in the transport sector for over twenty years. Originally a linguist and a banker, he worked for an international aircraft manufacturer in Toulouse for five years.

In 1997, he moved to Angel Trains, Europe's leading lessor of railway rolling stock, where he founded and led the international division of the company. Under his direction, the start-up business grew to market leadership, €2bn of assets, a presence in twelve countries and a multi-national multi-disciplinary team.

After the sale of Angel Trains International in 2009, he established Steel Fleet Consulting and for four years advised several well-known transport operators on implementing major capital investment, acquisition or bidding projects, before joining RATP Dev. He is the Chairman of RATP Dev's London bus operations and of Metrolink in Manchester.

Maria Machancoses
Programme Director
Midlands Connect

With a degree in Law and an MSc in International Transport, Maria has spent the last 14 years working in the UK for the transport industry.
Maria is currently the Programme Director for Midlands Connect, a £5m collaboration that together with central government, brings together 28 Local Authorities and 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships across the Midlands, to develop the vision and strategy for transport connectivity throughout the region.

The strategy, to be developed jointly by the Midlands Connect Partnership and the DfT by March 2017, will identify the major infrastructure projects which are needed to improve linkages to the region's key hubs, therefore increasing economic activity and helping to power the Midlands Engine.

As part of her previous role, Maria managed the WM ITA's input into the HS2 Hybrid Bill and was actively involved in master-planning activities around proposed HS2 Stations in the West Midlands, with particular input into the wider connectivity measures of the emerging GBSLEP HS2 Growth Strategy.

She is also a member of European Metropolitan Transport Association, and is working closely with Government bodies and the European Commission on key aspects of the European Transport White Paper such the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans and the Connecting Europe Facility.

Dave Newton
Director and Consulting Group Leader for North West and Yorkshire
Arup

Dave is a Director and Arup's Consulting Group Leader for the North West and Yorkshire region, including the Planning, Policy & Economics, Transport Planning, Environmental and Energy teams. He is a Senior Executive with over 20 years' experience and a proven record of delivery on a range of strategies, programmes and projects, within both the private and public sectors. Prior to joining Arup, Dave held leadership roles contributing to Transport for the North, HS2 and Greater Manchester's Transport Fund, Greater Manchester's Transport Innovation Fund bid and the ground breaking Growth Deal and Devolution Agreement.

John Pickworth
Business Development Director
Cubic Transportation Systems

John is the Business Development Director for Cubic's European division with responsibility for strategy, sales and investment opportunities. He has over 15 years' experience in the transport technology business bringing commercial, partnering and strategic expertise to promote business growth and operational improvements, both within the public and private sector. John is responsible for the identification and delivery of projects that align to Cubic's NextCity vision – something particularly relevant to the various Northern transport initiatives. His particular focus is currently around integrating transport and retail opportunities, helping operators and government bodies maximise their revenue returns across multi-modes while at the same time creating seamless customer solutions through account driven strategies.

Alison Pilling
Programme Director, Integrated and Smart Travel
Transport for the North

Alison began her career as a teacher before moving into transport working first for the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) before moving to Metro (as it was then) to manage a European project delivering a range of travel choices activities.

In 2004 she took on delivery of a 150 vehicle yellow school bus project before becoming Information and Marketing Manager for West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) in 2010. In this role, she oversaw a range of customer-facing business change activities in delivering West Yorkshire's Smart Card and Information Programme, as well as overseeing the programme's business requirements.

She was seconded to Transport for the North from WYCA as Programme Director for the Integrated and Smart Travel programme in November 2015.

Prof. Tony Travers
Co-Director
LSE London

Tony Travers is Director of British Government at LSE, a programme at the London School of Economics. He is also a professor in the LSE's Government Department and co-director of LSE London. His key research interests include public finance, local/ regional government and London government. He has recently been an advisor to the House of Commons Education Select Committee and also the Communities and Local Government Select Committee.

He was a Senior Associate of the Kings Fund from 1999 to 2004, and also a member of the Arts Council's Touring Panel during the late 1990s. From 1992 to 1997, he was a member of the Audit Commission. He was a member of the Urban Task Force Working Group on Finance.

He is a research board member of the Centre for Cities and a board member of the New Local Government Network. He is an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy. He chaired the London Finance Commission (2012-13) and was a member of the City Growth Commission (2013-14), and also a member of the CIPFA/LGA Independent Commission on Local Government Finance (2014-15).

He chaired the Wolverhampton Skills & Employment Commission (2014-15) and, previously, the Waltham Forest Growth Commission (2013-14) and was also a member of the Mayor of London's Tottenham Task Force (2011-12). He has been a member of independent commissions in Shropshire (2009, primary schools), Cambridgeshire (2009, transport) and Reading (2008, transport).

Martin Tugwell
Programme Director
England's Economic Heartland

Martin Tugwell has over 20 years of experience in strategic transport and infrastructure planning whilst operating at national, regional and local levels. He is Programme Director for England's Economic Heartland – a Strategic Alliance of County and Unitary Councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships covering Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire – that is promoting a new model of integration for strategic planning and delivery, including potentially a Sub-national Transport Body for the area.

His leadership on strategic planning at the regional level created the first Regional Transport Strategy for the South East and contributed to the South East Plan, having previously worked in the Government Office for the South East. Whilst working for Oxfordshire County Council he helped lay the foundations for the ambitious plans set out in Oxfordshire's Strategic Economic Plan, having previously helped establish the Local Enterprise Partnership.

Martin is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the CIHT and a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He is a Trustee of the CIHT and Chairman of the Learned Society and Technical Board. He is a past Chairman of the Transport Planning Society and a Council member for the National Infrastructure Planning Association.