Maritime and Rail Transport: Sector Champions
MARITIME SECTOR CHAMPIONS
David Whitehead OBE, Director, British Ports Association
“Ports legislation comes at us from all directions. Planning, licensing, the environment, navigational safety and security are just some of the sources of the rules and regulations which apply to us. The Red Tape Challenge is a terrific opportunity to look at how we might prune, consolidate, simplify, and even convert into codes of practice this array of maritime legislation. We now need ideas. Everything which impacts on us represents an opportunity for change, change which can make a real difference to our businesses and operations.”
David Whitehead joined the ports industry in 1990 following commercial roles in publishing and the food industry. He joined as Director of Policy of the British Ports Federation, becoming Director of the newly formed British Ports Association in 1993. His current roles include board membership of the EcoPorts Foundation which coordinates environmental research and good practice schemes for use throughout the EU as well as membership of the government (BIS) Ports Advisory Group, the Industrial Advisory Panel to the Marine Geography Department, Cardiff University and the Greenwich Forum.
He was until recently a board member of Freight by Water, an organisation which promoted the benefits of coastal shipping. He is a founder member of the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) and was the first Chairman of its Environment Committee. He was elected Chairman of ESPO on two occasions, holding office from 2001 – 2004. He was awarded an OBE in the 2011 New Year’s Honours List for services to the ports industry.
Gus Lewis, RYA Legal and Government Affairs Manager
“The RYA believes that any legislation or regulation should be transparent, accountable, proportionate and consistent and only targeted at cases where sound risk and evidence analysis demonstrates that such action is needed. This process gives us a unique opportunity to challenge those regulations that do not satisfy these criteria.”
Gus Lewis qualified as a solicitor with Magic Circle law firm Clifford Chance LLP before moving to the South Coast to specialise in maritime law with a particular focus on the yachting sector. Gus was appointed Head of Legal & Government Affairs at the Royal Yachting Association in 2007, where he is responsible for monitoring and responding to legislative proposals affecting recreational boaters and representing the interests of members and affiliated clubs to legislators at all levels. Gus is a keen sailor, power boater and yachtsman, holding a commercial Yacht master Certificate of Competence and RYA Dinghy Instructor and Powerboat Instructor certificates.
Mark Brownrigg OBE, Director General at the Chamber of Shipping
“Shipping is a highly regulated industry – world-wide, in Europe and nationally. We therefore need regulation in order to carry out our business and to demonstrate that the UK is among the world leaders. But that points up the crucial need for quality and practicality in our legislation and in our legislative processes. The Red Tape Challenge provides a great opportunity to road-test that, to weed out out-dated regulations and the unwarranted bureaucracy that they entail, and to review our existing regulations to make them clear and fit for purpose. One of the biggest tasks must also be to ensure that inconsistencies and potential areas of confusion are smoothed out in future as new legislation is made – thus making the Challenge a continuing process.”
Mark Brownrigg has been Director-General of the Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom since 2003. As such, he is responsible for the British shipping industry’s relations with government and other relevant bodies (national and international) on all fiscal, economic, employment and technical issues. Among his principal roles in recent years have been the co-ordination of the Chamber’s pursuit of a positive national policy on maritime matters, which resulted in the UK’s Tonnage Tax, and seeking to maintain certainty and consistency in the fiscal and operating climate for UK-based shipping. He has also been closely involved in cluster initiatives within the UK designed to bring different maritime-related sectors together both for policy and political purposes (in Maritime UK speaking for the UK’s maritime services) and for general awareness of the sea and maritime activities more widely (in Sea Vision, which focuses on education and careers).
RAIL TRANSPORT SECTOR CHAMPIONS
Alec McTavish, Director of Policy & Operations, Association of Train Operating Companies
Alec is Director of Policy & Operations at the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). He is responsible for a team that advises TOC owner groups on railway policy issues, railway planning, train operations and engineering. Prior to joining ATOC he held a number of posts in British Rail (Director of Business Systems; Director of Passenger Marketing; Planning Manager Provincial Railways; and Policy Adviser to the Board). Before that he was an Economic Adviser in the Department of Transport and the Department for Industry.
David Morgan MBE, Chair, Heritage Railway Association
“The Heritage Railway Association fully understands that regulation is as essential for our as for any sector of the industry. Our challenge will be to identify that which is appropriate for our operations and retain it whilst the inappropriate, unnecessary and redundant is dismantled.”
David is Chair of the Heritage Railway Association (HRA), having served on the Board of the Association and its predecessors since 1972. He is also Chairman of Great Central Railway Plc and Deputy Chairman of the West Somerset Railway. His longest railway involvement has been with the North Norfolk Railway of which he is now President, having originally joined its Board in 1968. His initial involvement with preserved railways (as they were then known) was as legal advisor, unsurprisingly since he is a solicitor, and he still practises as a consultant with the Westminster firm, RadcliffesLeBrasseur. His primary objective has been to gain widespread recognition of the railway heritage sector and its beneficial contribution to the community, both culturally and financially.
Mark Smith, Vice Chair, Heritage Railway Association
Mark represents heritage railways at UK Inbound and the British Tourism Development Committee and has taken a special interest in assessing the economic impact of tourism. He assists a number of railway members with business advice, and regularly acts as mediator to help resolve disputes and difficulties. He serves on the Association’s committees responsible for training, operating & safety and legal services as a lay representative.
Trained as a teacher, and with a lifelong interest in Railways, Mark was invited to join the Board of the West Somerset Railway in 1986. Two years later he was appointed managing director and under his guidance the Railway became profitable, visitor numbers rose from 90k to their current 225k per annum, it has been voted Independent Railway of the Year on three occasions and has secured substantial investment of European funds to support its on going development.
Paul Plummer, Group Strategy Director, Network Rail
Paul joined Network Rail in October 2002 and the Network Rail Board in October 2008. Paul’s team comprises of teams responsible for Planning and Regulation, Network Planning, and Network Development. This includes responsibility for the interface with government and regulators, reform and compliance with the industry regulatory and contractual framework, establishing our expenditure and output requirements, long-term planning of the network, and sponsorship of enhancements to network capability.
Previously he was Chief Economist and Director of Economics and Finance at the Office of Rail Regulation from 1999 to 2001. He has also worked at National Economic Research Associates (NERA), NM Rothschild and Accenture advising companies, governments and regulators on utility regulation, restructuring, privatisation, strategy, finance and M&A in the UK and overseas.
Graham Smith MBE, Secretary, Rail Delivery Group
“An expanding railway also has to be an efficient railway. The rail industry is tackling a range of initiatives that will increase efficiency and improve value for money for the passenger, freight shipper and taxpayer that will unlock further growth in rail use. Many of the barriers to that greater efficiency can be found in the bureaucracy, red tape and regulations that delay, or even prevent, improvements to Britain’s railways. Removing the bureaucracy, discarding the red tape and scrapping unnecessary regulations will help the rail industry to provide an even better service to its customers.”
Graham is a career railwayman who has worked in operational, freight and strategic management roles in the industry. Graham is Managing Director of Albany Smith Rail LLP and is Secretary of the GB rail industry’s Rail Delivery Group formed in response to the Rail Value for Money Study. Between May 2010 and June 2011 he was working on the Rail Value for Money Study chaired by Sir Roy McNulty and sponsored by the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail Regulation. Graham has also been advising on other rail issues such as opportunities for cross Industry efficiencies in the rail industry, traffic opportunities at UK ports, the opportunities for devolution in the rail industry and the development of rail business strategies.
Graham joined the railway industry as a management trainee in 1978. During his 33 years in the railway industry he has argued the case for rail with funders and stakeholders. In recognition of his work Graham was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 New Year’s Honours list for services to the rail freight industry. He is a Member of the Railway Heritage Committee and a Life Governor of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. He was educated at the University of Hull.
Anthony Smith, Chief Executive, Passenger Focus
Anthony is the Chief Executive of Passenger Focus. Having qualified as a solicitor, Anthony worked for five years as principal consumer lawyer for the Consumers’ Association, publishers of Which? This was followed by a year as the legal consultant for Consumers International, a worldwide federation of consumer groups. rior to joining Passenger Focus, Anthony was deputy and acting director of ICSTIS, the regulator of premium rate telephone services.
Anson Jack, Director of Policy, Research and Risk and Deputy CEO, Rail Safety and Standards Board
“I welcome this initiative to reduce the burden on industry to help support British industry in becoming ever more efficient, and the rail industry certainly has a long list of regulations that are worthy of review.”
Anson has 30 years in the rail sector, including operations, freight, commercial, strategy, regulation, safety, research and general management. Anson has a BA and MA in Philosophy Politics and Economics. He is currently responsible for RSSB’s research and development activity and for the collection, analysis and distribution of safety risk information for the GB Railway, and deputy CEO of the Rail Safety and Standards Board. Anson is a member of the Organising Committee of the World Congress of Rail Research, Member of Transport Research Board Committee to advise the Federal Railroad Administration (Washington DC) on its research and development programme. He has worked on railway reform in Pakistan and Sri Lanka with the World Bank and lectured in North and South America, Asia, Australia and Europe on the Great Britain experience with privatisation. His experience in the UK rail industry is in operations, regulation, strategy, commercial, safety, research and general management.
Geoff Inskip, Chief Executive, Centro
“Industry and local authorities will welcome the removal of regulations which enable them to work more efficiently.”
Geoff Inskip is Chief Executive at Centro, the Transport Authority for the West Midlands. He has over 20 years experience in the finance, rail and public transport sectors. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant, Geoff began working as a management consultant before moving on to work for a merchant bank in Manchester. In 1988 GMPTE asked him with Kleinwort Benson to look at the private sector options for delivering Manchester’s Metrolink under a Public Private Partnership. In 1992 Geoff was appointed Director of Finance of Greater Manchester’s Transport Authority and in 1996 as the Project Director for Phase 2 of Manchester’s Metrolink, saw the project delivered to time and within budget. After being appointed Deputy Director General in 1999 he successfully delivered the approvals for Line 1 upgrades and Phase 3A in 2006. Geoff took up the position as Chief Executive of Centro in October 2006 to develop transport solutions aimed at attracting passengers out of their cars. Geoff has made a huge contribution to transforming the light rail industry in the UK. Geoff’s contribution was recognised by the light rail industry in 2007 with an award for “Campaigner of the Year” at the national Light Rail Awards.During the past 5 years Geoff has been a driving force in setting up and taking forward the Midland Metro, introducing smartcards to the West Midlands bus network, and driving regeneration through transport projects. At Centro, through partnership working with bus operators and National Express, he has overseen the transformation of the bus network which is showing improved performance and customer satisfaction. He also led the introduction of smartcards on over 2000 buses in the West Midlands. As a result of Geoff’s determination, Centro won the ITA of the Year Award in 2009/10 with public transport seeing growth in passenger numbers, a substantial investment programme and increased customer satisfaction.
