ICE President

The role of the ICE president

Each year in November, a new ICE president begins their 12-month role.

Their role is to represent the civil engineering profession and the institution at the highest levels of government, business, and society.

They are considered an authoritative voice of the profession.

The president chairs the ICE Trustee Board and the Council, and has certain duties under the by-laws.

• Further detail on the president's responsibilities and duties are set out in the president's terms of reference.
• The president's calendar, including past and upcoming events, can be accessed online by ICE members.

Current ICE president

David Porter is the ICE president for the 2025-26 term.

He is the institution's 161^st president.

David is currently the director of engineering with the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), which is the roads authority for Northern Ireland.

In this position, David is the chief highways engineer and the head of the civil engineering profession within the Northern Ireland Civil Service. He is responsible for the development of the department’s professional and technical staff, engineering policies and standards, health and safety, and leads on procurement and the internal consultancy. Previously, David was the chief executive of the Rivers Agency, the flood defence and drainage authority for Northern Ireland, and also held the posts of director of development and director of operations with the agency.

David is a past chair of the Northern Ireland Region of ICE, has been on council three times, two terms as the Northern Ireland representative, and one as a general member. He has also served on numerous committees and panels, was a member of the Presidential Commission on ICE Governance (the Orr Review), chaired the member-led review of NOMCO, the Audit Committee, and the Qualifications Panel. David has also been on the Committee of Management of the ICE Benevolent Fund.

Amongst various distinctions, David is a Fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of Engineers Ireland, was awarded the Poskitt Medal by the ICE Northern Ireland Region in 2017, and the Engineers Ireland President’s Award in 2018.

ICE past presidents

Before the standard length of term was established, Thomas Telford, the institution's first president, served the longest term of 14 years.

List of ICE past presidents