Jesse Norman MP (invited)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport

Andy McDonald
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

Andy was elected in a by-election for the Middlesbrough Constituency on 29th November 2012 and re-elected to serve as MP in the General Election on 7th May 2015, and again on 8th June 2017. Andy was born in Middlesbrough where he still lives with his wife Sally. Before his election to Parliament, he was a partner in Thompson's Solicitors leading on Catastrophic Injury cases. Andy served as a local councillor in Middlesbrough between 1995-1999, and was also a governor of Abingdon Primary School, Middlesbrough for fifteen years until 2010 and is currently a member of the Board of Governors of Middlesbrough College. He has also chaired two local charities: The Davison Trust working with and supporting children with special needs and the Teesside Branch of Headway, helping the survivors of brain injuries and their families. Andy was appointed as Shadow Rail Minister in January 2015 and as Shadow Transport Secretary in July 2016

Humza Yousaf MSP
Minister for Transport and the Islands
Scottish Government

Humza Yousaf was born in Glasgow on April 7, 1985. He was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School and the University of Glasgow, graduating with a degree in Politics. He is also an alumnus of the US State Department's prestigious International Visitor Learning Programme.

He went on to work in the Scottish Parliament as an aide to the late Bashir Ahmad MSP before he was elected as an MSP for the Glasgow Region in May 2011. He was a Parliamentary Liaison Officer to former First Minister Alex Salmond MSP and was appointed Minister for External Affairs and International Development in September 2012. He was appointed Minister for Transport and the Islands in May 2016.

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.

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.

Giles Fearnley
Managing Director – UK Bus
FirstGroup Plc

Giles Fearnley has been Managing Director of First Group's UK Bus Division since February 2011.

In 1991 he led a 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" from the bus industry into rail and was one of the founders of Prism Rail plc, which operated four UK passenger rail franchises. He was appointed as Chief Executive and led the Group prior to the sale in 2000 to National Express. He then served as Chairman of Grand Central, the open access rail operator, prior to its sale to BB in 2011.

At various times, Giles has served as Chairman of the Association of Train Operating Companies and President and then Chairman until 2011, of the Confederation of Passenger Transport.

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. She is a Director of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (Low CVP). She has also been an Advisor and Board Member of Transport for Greater Manchester.

Previously she was Project Director for Journey Solutions, where she was responsible for PLUSBUS. Other previous roles include Sales Director for Chameleon Press printing company; and, Account Executive for DDB advertising agency. She read History and German at Magdalen College Oxford. She is a Chartered Fellow (FCILT) of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (FRSA).

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
House of Lords

Jenny has held several political roles: Deputy Mayor of London, Deputy Chair of the London Assembly's Police and Crime Committee, Green Councillor for Southwark Council and Chair of the Green Party of England and Wales. She served on the London Assembly from 2000-16. Jenny was introduced to the House of Lords on November 5th 2013, she took her title, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, from the council estate she grew up on in Brighton.