This announcement from the Department for Transport, via a number of chums…
Director General, Rail Group
Polly Payne and Ruth Hannant have been appointed as Directors General for Rail Group, joining DfT from the Department for Education where they currently lead the Government’s work on Higher Education reform.
Polly and Ruth are a very well established job-share team who together bring extensive commercial, financial and strategic policy experience to DfT, having worked in a range of roles in HM Treasury, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and UK Government Investments.
(Having had first-hand experience of colleagues undertaking a job-share role, this can work really well. And impressive that the DfT is prepared to create our first ever Directors General.
More importantly the connection with the Department for Education will be especially valuable as the industry collectively seeks to improve skills and diversity, which will need the active support of the DfE.
This is beginning to look inspired! Ed).
Director General, Resources and Strategy
After 6 months as Acting DG for Rail - Nick Joyce will be taking up the role as Director General, Resources and Strategy. He will succeed Jonathan Moor who is leaving DfT in December to go on secondment to the Canadian Government as Chief Financial Officer for the Canadian Border Services Agency.
Building on his experience both as Director of Corporate Finance and as Acting DG for Rail, Nick has been asked to strengthen and lead DfT's shareholding function for Network Rail, High Speed 2 Limited and Highways England.
Precise timings of handover will be determined shortly, but we expect that Ruth, Polly and Nick will be in post before the end of the year.
Director General, High Speed Rail and Major Projects
Clive Maxwell was appointed as Director General, High Speed Rail and Major Projects earlier this month. Clive will formally take up his role on 20th November.
Clive joins DfT from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, where he has held the role of Director General, Energy Transformation since 2014. He has extensive experience of working across Government, including leading work in HM Treasury in response to the financial crisis, and on consumer and competition issues at the Office of Fair Trading.
Clive’s experience of infrastructure, regulation and delivery of complex programmes will be an asset to the Department. His recent responsibilities include overseeing a number of Government Major Projects, including on Smart Meters and Heat Networks, as well as leading wide-ranging policy on energy and tackling climate change.
As well as HS2, Clive will lead our work with Transport for the North on Northern Powerhouse Rail, and be responsible for East West Rail as well as working with Transport for London on the Crossrail 2 project.
(Another example of a helpful flow of talent between BEIS and DfT, both departments having a common interest in the success of the railway's supply chain. Ed)
Non-Executive Team
DfT have also been refreshing our Non-Executive team and the Prime Minister and Secretary of State have approved the following appointments to the DfT Board:
- Ian King, CEO of BAE Systems from 2008 to 2017, to succeed Ed Smith as DfT Lead Non-Executive.
- Richard Keys, Director of Merrill Lynch International and previously Senior Global Chief Accountant at PWC. Currently Non-Executive Director at NATS and Wessex Water.
- Tracey Westall, Executive Director at SCC (Specialist Computer Centres) and Non-Executive Director on Innovation Birmingham, TechUK and Governor of Birmingham City University.
- Richard Aitken-Davies, an independent consultant with wide experience in Executive and Non-Executive roles in the infrastructure sector in particular in rail and electricity.
Ian, Richard, Tracey and Richard will join Tony Poulter to make up the Department’s Non-Executive team, and we expect them to take these roles from early-November.
All in all, much to be pleased with here. Good effort.
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