GBRTT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Transition Team Lead
Following the publication of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail in May 2021, Andrew was tasked with establishing interim arrangements for the creation of Great British Railways. This is alongside his role as chief executive and Board member of Network Rail, which he was appointed to in August 2018.
Prior to joining Network Rail, Andrew was the chief executive officer of the Civil Aviation Authority from 2009-2018. He has also had a wide-ranging career within the rail industry, having started his career with British Rail and followed on to work for Railtrack, Network Rail's predecessor. He served as managing director of South West Trains and managing director of FirstGroup plc where he led the rail division which included intercity, commuter, rural, freight, open access and tram services in England, Scotland and Wales. In addition, he was a non-executive director at a rolling stock leasing company.
Andrew was awarded an OBE in the 2016 New Year Honour's list for services to transport and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Institute of Railway Operators and the Permanent Way Institute.
Job Titles:
- Lead Director
- Lead Director ( Currently on Secondment to DfT )
Anit is the lead director which means he oversees the whole operation of the GBRTT working with Andrew Haines and team on the interim arrangements for the railway following the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail In May 2021.
Prior to taking on this role, Anit was Chief of Staff at Network Rail where he led Network Rail's involvement in the building of the white paper. Anit has worked in the rail industry for over 18 years and joined Network Rail after completing his training at Sainsbury's, he then went on to spend five years at Shell where he worked in the retail part of the business.
As well as his full-time role, he is also a Non-Executive Director for East London NHS Foundation Trust and has previously Chaired the Trustee Board for two of Network Rail's pension schemes.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
David Noyes has spent his career working in the leisure and transport sectors. He brings expertise in leading devolved businesses in safety critical industries with a focus on delivering customer service excellence and driving cost efficiency.
In a 20-year career at British Airways, he held various directorships, including director of UK Regional operations, director for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, executive vice-president for North America and director of worldwide customer services. Subsequently, until December 2017, David was chief executive officer of Cunard and P&O Cruises, and a director of Carnival plc.
As well as being a non-executive director of Network Rail, where he chairs the Remuneration and Environmental Sustainability committees, David is also non-executive chair of Grays of Cambridge (International) Ltd, a non-executive director of London Luton Airport Operations Ltd and a member of the corporate advisory board for The Teenage Cancer Trust.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chief Executive Officer for HS1 Limited
Dyan Perry is the chief executive officer for HS1 limited and brings extensive knowledge and skills from more than 30 years' varied experience in rail.
Prior to joining HS1, Dyan was the chief operating officer at Govia Thameslink Railway. She has worked in several senior director roles at Network Rail including route managing director of the West Coast Main Line and director of operations.
Dyan was part of the Advisory Panel to Crossrail and was also a board member of an NHS Trust for five years, a Trustee for the Railway Children registered charity and a board member for the British Transport Police Authority. She is also currently a Non-Executive Director for East West Railway, a Trustee for Women in Rail and Chair of the National Skills Academy for Rail.
Dyan has a Master's in Transport and Logistics from Salford University and is a member of the Chartered Institute for Marketing and Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management.
Job Titles:
- Director Strategic Planning
Elaine Seagriff works for the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) where she is the director of strategic planning. Before joining GBRTT, Elaine worked as Director of Transport Planning with Jacobs, leading their UK national transport strategy and policy team to shape strategic policy and transport planning initiatives in city regions.
Prior to joining Jacobs Elaine served as Head of Transport Policy and Strategy for Transport for London and was responsible for developing and implementing the Mayor's 20 Year Transport Strategy.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Non - Executive Director of Centrica
Heidi Mottram is chief executive officer of Northumbrian Water and former managing director of Northern Rail, offering extensive leadership and experience within rail and business. Heidi was also a non-executive director of Eurostar from 2014 to 2020 where she provided strategic advice and support.
Heidi is currently a non-executive director of Centrica and is also vice-chair of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, a member of the CBI President's Committee and vice-chair of Newcastle University Council.
Heidi was awarded an OBE in 2010 for services to the rail industry and a CBE in 2018 for services to the water industry and business community.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Board Member at UK Sports
- Executive Vice President at NCR Corporation
Ismail Amla is executive vice president at NCR Corporation responsible for the global professional services division serving clients in the retail, hospitality and financial services sectors.
Ismail joined NCR from Capita where he was chief growth officer. Prior to that, he lived and worked in the USA as chief executive officer for Capco NA and managing partner for IBM North America. Ismail has extensive international experience helping leading brands and disruptive start-ups leverage emerging technologies.
Before moving to the USA, Ismail was a member of the leadership team for Accenture in the UK.
Ismail is also a board member at UK Sports, Network Rail and a member of the board of governors at University of East London.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- General Counsel and Company Secretary of the Houses of Parliament Restoration
Jane Mee is general counsel and company secretary of the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority, bringing wide-ranging experience in advising public and private sector organisations through all stages of major project delivery.
Her previous roles include general counsel at Hitachi Rail, and she was the chair of the Agility Trains companies through the Intercity Express Programme delivery and ownership changes. Jane led the legal function at London Underground through a period of major infrastructure upgrades and held similar leadership roles at Bombardier and WSP.
Jane has extensive governance and compliance experience and has previously held other company secretary and board director roles.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants
Jeremy Westlake is chief financial officer for the Great British Railways Transition Team and brings extensive experience of financial performance and supply chains in rail and transport, both in the UK and internationally.
Jeremy has been chief financial officer at Network Rail for five years. In his former role as senior vice president at Alstom Transport in France, he was responsible for investor management, financial performance and control and project finance. Previously he spent 14 years at Rolls-Royce in a range of senior finance and supply chain roles in the UK and the United States.
Jeremy is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and has a master's in manufacturing from University of Cambridge.
Job Titles:
- Director Business Planning & Financial Management
John is a Chartered Management Accountant and Chartered Engineer. He has extensive experience across a number of UK Infrastructure sectors in both operational and senior finance positions and has been a Finance Director at Network Rail for 10 years.
He has led large finance teams in highly complex financial environments and is now heading up the Finance division as Lead Finance Director at the Great British Railways Transition Team. His role is to shape the sector wide business planning and financial management discipline in creating Great British Railways.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Business Leader and Chartered Accountant
- Independent Non - Executive Chair of Royal Mail
Keith Williams is a highly regarded business leader and chartered accountant who in 2018 was appointed Independent Chair of a review of the British Railways on behalf of the UK Government. He subsequently co-authored the Williams-Shapps plan for rail, the white paper setting out the government's plan to transform the railways in Great Britain.
Keith previously spent 18 years at British Airways, including five years as chief financial officer, three years as chief executive officer and two years as executive chair. During that time, he led the transformation of British Airways, building a leaner and more customer-focused organisation with a sustainable future.
Keith is currently the independent non-executive chair of Royal Mail, non-executive director and deputy chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, a non-executive director of Aviva plc and an executive board member and chair of the audit committee at Transport for London. He spent his early career at Boots, Apple Inc. and Reckitt and Colman.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chairman of Network Rail
- Richmond Hill Deputy Chair
In 2020 Peter was tasked by the Prime Minister with carrying out the Union Connectivity Review, exploring ways in which better transport connectivity across the nations of the United Kingdom can deliver economic growth, jobs and housing. His final report was published in November 2021.
Peter was knighted in the 2013 New Year's Honours list, having been made CBE in 2006. In 2022, he was made a crossbench peer in the House of Lords.
Lord Hendy is the Chair of Network Rail, and also of the London Legacy Development Corporation at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. He also chairs the Euston Partnership Board, which is supervising the redevelopment of the HS2 and Network Rail Euston stations, and the wider site development. He was Commissioner of Transport for London from 2006 to 2015, where he led the successful operation of London's transport for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Job Titles:
- Director of People & Culture
Martin Thayne is the Director of People & Culture for GBRTT. Martin leads on implementing a people and culture framework which will enable Great British Railways (GBR) to have a modern and diverse culture and workforce that can deliver the vision for GBR and better represent the communities the railway serves.
Martin has extensive experience in ensuring a focus on people in customer driven environments. Prior to joining GBRTT, Martin managed and later founded senior-level head hunting companies as well as working across engineering and fast-moving consumer goods organisations across operations, sales, quality, and R&D.
Job Titles:
- Policy and Transformation Director
- Programme Director Policy & Transformation
Michael Clark is Policy and Transformation Director for the Great British Railways Transition Team. His responsibilities include set-up and development of the Transition Team, the design of the future Great British Railways, as well as a range of policy and strategy activities. Michael is on secondment from the Department for Transport, where he previously led Keith William's Review Secretariat.
Michael has a strong track record in public policy and strategy roles, with experience delivering in HM Treasury, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office and Department of Energy and Climate Change on a range of issues from arms control, financial services and climate change. Before joining the Williams Review, he led on aviation policy for the Department for Transport. Michael is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Director in UK Government Investments
Michael Harrison is a director in UK Government Investments (UKGI), an arm's length body of HM Treasury, and has worked on a range of governance roles and commercial projects across government since 2009.
As part of his role at UKGI Michael has been a non-executive director of a number of companies in which the UK Government has a shareholding including Porton Biopharma, Ordnance Survey, the Met Office and Working Links. Michael is currently the UK Government appointed non-executive director at Network Rail and Urenco (a uranium enrichment company one third owned by the UK Government).
Prior to working in UKGI Michael had a broad international corporate advisory career, with over 20 years working for Credit Suisse First Boston, Barclays de Zoete Wedd, and as independent corporate finance advisor at Caliburn in Australia. He started his career as an accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Job Titles:
- Programme Director ( Interim ) Passenger & Freight Services
Job Titles:
- Programme Director
- Lead Director ( Interim )
Rufus Boyd is the GBRTT Programme Director responsible for the development of industry wide passenger and freight services. His initial focus will be on customer experience, the freight user, and wider commercial arrangements including the new passenger service contracts and is looking at building a new institutional capability to deliver in each of these areas.
Prior to this role, Rufus had extensive experience as a Board level advisor in the UK and overseas, with commercial management and transport sector specialisms. His specialities include: business transformation and strategy selection; executive project sponsorship; managing project delivery teams; communications and stakeholder management; bid and transition team leadership; income generation strategies; regulated and unregulated rail contracts.
Job Titles:
- Director Communications & Engagement
Seb is leading GBRTT's communications and engagement team to deliver a programme of activity to communicate clearly and engage effectively with key stakeholders about the organisation's work to deliver a better, simpler railway for everyone in Britain.
Seb joined GBRTT having spent nine years at the Rail Delivery Group. During this time, he developed an extensive understanding of the rail industry, its stakeholder landscape and the sector's reputational challenges. Most recently, he has overseen cross-industry communications activity such as delivering a unified presence at the COP26 summit under the ‘We Mean Green' banner and helping tell the story of rail's importance to the nation's recovery from Covid.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chairman of the NHS Business Services Authority
- Silla
Silla Maizey has worked in the aviation industry for more than 34 years and brings extensive experience and insights from operations and procurement to the shaping of customer proposition and business re-organisation.
She was most recently managing director of British Airways (BA) Gatwick, where she was a part of BA's executive leadership team. She was also previously BA's customer director.
Silla is currently chair of the NHS Business Services Authority and a non-executive director of John Menzies plc and Network Rail. Silla is a fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. Silla was awarded an OBE in 2022 for her services to the NHS.
Job Titles:
- Director Fares, Ticketing & Retail
- Is Director of Fares
Stewart is Director of Fares, Ticketing and Retail at GBRTT. The programme he leads is delivering transformational change and improvement to customer experience.
An experienced commercial leader, Stewart has led successful marketing, digital, product and customer experience strategies in media, retail, financial services, technology and rail industries - most recently as Commercial Director at Abellio.
Job Titles:
- Director Passenger Revenue
Suzanne Donnelly is on secondment to the GBRTT leadership team as the director responsible for the passenger, revenue and marketing team, which has been formed from and builds on the Rail Revenue Recovery Group (RRRG) set up in early 2021. Revenue recovery and growth is critical to the financial sustainability of the railway both now and for the future. Therefore, she has a twin focus - short term acceleration of demand/revenue and designing Great British Railways in a way which puts customer and revenue management at the heart.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Non - Executive Board Member at the Department for Transport
Tony Poulter is a non-executive board member at the Department for Transport (DfT) and was member of the Advisory Panel for the Williams Rail Review. His other Non- Executive roles are with Cubico Sustainable Investments, a leading global owner and operator of renewable energy infrastructure; the UK Green Infrastructure Platform, which is a BEIS owned company; and LCR Property, a DfT-owned company which unlocks value from under-utilised real estate close to the railway.
Tony was previously senior independent director at the UK Green Investment Bank from 2013 to 2017 and chairman of the Pensions Infrastructure Platform between 2017 and 2020. His executive career before 2016 was largely with PricewaterhouseCoopers, where his roles included global head of consulting, head of advisory in Asia Pacific, and advising on infrastructure financing and public-private partnerships.