Judges

Steve Agg, panel chairman

 

Steve Agg is the Institute's Chief Executive. Steve, a well-known figure in logistics, supply chain and public transport circles, joined the Institute in May 2006. He is based at the Institute's Corby headquarters.

Before taking on the role of Chief Executive he was most recently in the high-profile post of Managing Director Business Services for the Freight Transport Association - where he worked to develop a range of compliance based business services for both freight and passenger transport operators which included training, auditing, engineering and consultancy.

Prior to this he was UK Distribution Director for Danone, which included the businesses of Jacob's Biscuits, HP Foods and the bottled water suppliers Evian and Volvic.

Steve is a long-time member of the Institute and is committed to raising the profile and status of all individuals working in the logistics and transport profession.

Roy Campbell

 

Roy joined Gatwick Express from British Airways shortly after privatisation as Marketing & Media Relations Manager. He was responsible for developing a range of advertising, marketing communication and PR programmes across both outbound and inbound consumer and trade channels. Having been promoted to Head of Marketing he managed the design & implementation of the new corporate identity as well as launching the brand new Class 460 rolling stock. Gatwick Express won the Rail Marketing campaign of the year 2000. He was seconded to the Airport Express sales & marketing joint venture with Heathrow and Stansted Express.

Since leaving the rail industry he has worked in several multi-national organisations and experienced many of the challenges presented to marketeers by the developments in digital media and the increasingly powerful voice of the customer.

This will be his 10^th year on the judging panel.

Paul Clifton, Judge

 

Paul Clifton is a broadcaster and writer on transport issues. As the BBC's Transport Correspondent for Southern England since 1994, he has appeared on a wide range of BBC television and radio programmes, including Today, the Six and Ten O’clock News, Newsnight and most frequently on South Today and other regional programmes. His credits include sixteen BBC2 documentaries on transport. Paul is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and of the Institution of Highways & Transportation. He's the only person to be named the CILT's Transport Journalist of the Year two years running. Paul is a columnist for Rail Professional and is a judge and presenter of the Rail Business Awards.

Alan Whitehouse, Judge

 

Alan Whitehouse had been broadcasting and writing on transport issues for over 30 years. Alan was BBC North's transport correspondent for 14 years and before that spent 20 years reporting for newspapers, including the Yorkshire Post where he was chief reporter. Alans current role is Business and Transport Correspondent for BBC Yorkshire. His time at the BBC has included reporting for all the major TV and radio news programmes, including the Today Programme and the Ten O' Clock news. He has also made half a dozen documentaries for the Radio 4 programme 'File on 4'. Alan is also a associate member of the IRO and a member of the Council of the Friends of the National Railway Museum.

Paul Brasington

  Paul is a fellow of the British Association of Communicators in Business, the UK’s largest organisation for internal communication professionals, and was its chairman from 2003–4. He continues to sit on its governing council and strategy development committee.
Paul Brasington has worked as a freelance communication consultant and copywriter since 1992. He graduated with first class honours in English Literature from Cambridge University in 1981. Before turning freelance he held various communications consultancy roles, lastly as planning director at Publicis Dialogue (part of the Publicis group). He has worked across a broad range of sectors including telecommunications and IT, healthcare, industrial relations, professional services, building products and luxury goods.

Tony King

 

Tony King is a Director of Jacobs, one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of Professional Services.

He has been involved in the UK rail industry since 1985 leading the development of Waterloo International Terminal, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and West Coast Main Line, in their planning stages. He has also worked on High Speed Rail in Spain, Portugal and China (Hong Kong). In recent years he has led and developed Jacobs International Infrastructure business.

Mr King, a Chartered Civil and Structural Engineer, is married and lives in Berkshire.  He has over 35 years experience with Jacobs and has played a leading role in the development of its UK and International rail business.  He has been a member of the Railway Industry Association Council from 2001 and Chairman in 2007 and 2008.

Sanjay Mistry

 

Sanjay has over 15 years in-house PR experience gained in private and public sector organisations.  He has extensive experience in business, financial services, transport and public sector PR as well as in public affairs. Additionally, he has developed a specialism in ethnic PR supporting a number of clients targeting that market.

Since 2003 Sanjay has been providing freelance communications, PR and public affairs support for a number of corporate organizations, pressure groups and membership organisations, including in the transport sector.

Mark Hughes, Judge

 

Mark is Interfleet’s Regional Manager for London and the South of England, responsible for managing all consultancy services delivered out of the company’s Liverpool Street base. He also has responsibility for the ongoing future development of Interfleet’s service range.

Mark’s career started with British Rail in 1992 on the BR General Management graduate training scheme, where he was one of Chris Green’s InterCity trainees. Upon completion of his training, Mark held a number of frontline Operational roles in both the passenger and freight sectors.

Leaving the rail industry in 1997, Mark spent time in the coach and bus sector with National Express where he held a range of posts, from General Manager, Victoria Coach Station to General Manager, Sales and Contracts. He also took an interesting diversion away from transport altogether for 2 years, where he was the Contracts and Commercial Manager for the Legal Services Commission.

Mark returned to the rail industry in 2003, having completed an MBA at Aston Business School, joining Interfleet as a Senior Consultant. Following his successful involvement in a number of franchise bids, he progressed to Principal Consultant and in March 2006 became the Regional Manager.

Mark is an active member of the Railway Forum, and currently holds the position of Vice Chair of the Railway Forum Aspect Group.  In addition he is a Member of the Institute of Railway Operators and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Ed Wells, Judge

 

Ed is an experienced railway engineering manager leading performance improvement in safety, risk management and asset performance.  His early career was involved in plant engineering and developing engineering management information systems.  In 1990 he took on the management of the London Underground (LU) lifts and escalator maintenance teams following the Kings Cross Fire delivering safety, reliability and efficiency improvements.  

In 1995 he took on the role of managing the internal specialist delivery Units in LU. In this period he also worked on the development of the LU PPP contracts and led the trades union consultation to transfer LU’s engineering staff to the ‘shadow running’ Infracos, established to test the PPP structure.  In 2003 he was appointed to his current role of Head of Assurance at Tube Lines.  In this role he has led the development and implementation of risk based assurances processes to support Tube Lines maintenance and renewal programme.  He now leads broader improvements activities including providing direction on benchmarking  to identify efficiency and quality improvement opportunities.

Ed is a Steering Group Member for the RSSB Engineering Safety Management Guidance, the “Yellow Book” and is also an Accredited Agent of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) in the LU Group.

Peter Plisner

 

Peter Plisner has been specialising in transport journalism for more than 20 years. His broadcasting career started in local radio and later he worked for Independent Radio News and several other major broadcasters. He is currently the Business and Transport Correspondent for BBC in the Midlands. Peter has always been interested in transport issues, although, he says, he has never fancied standing on platforms noting down train numbers! In his current post with the BBC, Peter has been following some major rail stories including, developments related to the West Coast Main Line modernisation, the construction and introduction of Virgin’s Pendolino tilting trains and, more recently, HS2 and the redevelopment of Birmingham’s New Street station.

Alan Marshall

 

Alan Marshall, now 66, spent 24 years in railway industry Public Affairs, including working as Information Services Officer for two British Rail Chairmen (Sir Peter Parker and Sir Robert Reid). He later became Public Affairs Manager of BR’s largest operational unit, the London Midland Region, and then returned to the BR Board as Group Public Relations Manager.  Since 1997, Alan Marshall has been Editorial Director of Railnews Ltd, which publishes the principal newspaper for the British railway industry. 

He has been a Trustee of the RBF since 2005, and is also Chairman of its Midland Committee.

Edward Funnell, Judge

 

Edward is a highly-experienced corporate communications and public affairs professional.

He has worked extensively in the transport and travel sectors and he has held a range of senior roles working for large transport organisations, at leading PR consultancies, and in two Whitehall Departments.

Edward was Director of Communications for the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) for nearly seven years where he planned and led high-profile media campaigns and he was a spokesman promoting and defending the railways on key issues.

He has also held senior communications roles at the Department for Transport and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, where he was responsible for strategic and stakeholder communications, developing policy communications across all modes of passenger and freight transport. He has also advised Network Rail, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and a range of business services companies.

Edward has good experience and knowledge of the issues in developing integrated transport solutions involving bus, cycle and train. At ATOC, he revamped and modernised the Cycle-Rail Awards, bringing in leading cycling stakeholders.

Edward lives and works in London and he is a regular cyclist.

David Hatcher, Judge

 

David is Managing Director of Promise Development UK and specialises in people development, media and emergency planning training.

With 34 years in the Kent Constabulary and a further 5 years with the British Transport Police, where David was a Chief Superintendent in both forces, he finally retired from policing in 2004.

David has had experience of policing major incidents which include

• Herald of Free Enterprise Ferry Disaster, Ladbroke Grove and Potters Bar rail disasters,
• Major flooding, snow, hurricane damage
• Animal rights, major public disorder and firearms policing duties

David was the police presenter on BBC Crimewatch for 15 years and now a regular speaker at various courses at the National Emergency Planning College.

Since Sept 2009, David has volunteered as a ShelterBox Response Team member to deliver humanitarian aid to international disaster zones which include Haiti and the Philippines.

Rachel Bennett, Judge

 

Rachel Bennett is senior HR professional, with significant expertise in industrial relations, the management of change and organisational development.

For the past 7 years she has been director of her own HR consultancy and interim management company. She has worked on a number of franchise bids for passenger TOCs and also for the Newcastle Metro, as well as a period as Director, HR Performance for Network Rail. Rachel is now working for Keolis UK as lead HR for their UK bids, as well as the mobilisation process for Nottingham tram concession.

Prior to this she was HR Director for Rail express systems and then EWS (now DB Schenker) for over 10 years, working as part of the executive team on the transition from public to private ownership of the UK’s largest rail freight business.

Negotiating new terms and conditions of employment, bringing businesses together into one organisation, improving the reputation of HR and introducing award-winning leadership programmes are just some of the things in which Rachel has taken a lead.

Her early career included roles in the paper industry and in the NHS, as well as spending 2 years as a volunteer teacher in India.

Rachel is a Trustee of the Railway Children charity and a non-executive director of in2rail Ltd.

Sarah De Brion, Judge

 

Currently a Director of train4change Ltd, a training and consultancy business which focuses on creating long term effective relationships with clients and colleagues to effect positive behavioural change.

train4change has worked within the Rail industry for over 12 years and aims to ensure new skills, attitudes and behaviours are embedded and sustained in client companies, while a robust approach to quality assurance and evaluation ensures maximum return on investment and excellent value for money. Sarah also works within the Telecom, Insurance and Utilities industries, and her early career was spent in Retail management and HR roles. She is also an assessor member of the Institute of Customer Services and an MBTI step 1 practitioner.

As previous winner of the RBA Supplier Excellence category Sarah is proud to be part of the judging panel for the RBA and looks forward to reviewing the entries.