Director General

MBA BSc CEng FICE FIMechE FIET FAPM MInstRE

Tom Foulkes has enjoyed a broad and varied career in the management and delivery of civil, military and mechanical engineering projects.  Educated at Clifton College, RMA Sandhurst, RMCS Shrivenham, the Army Staff College, the Royal College of Defence Studies and the Open University, he held senior UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) appointments in weapons development, equipment support, project management and barracks construction before joining the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) as Director General and the board of Thomas Telford Ltd (TTL) as Deputy Chairman in 2002.  Throughout his professional life, he has travelled extensively, visiting more than 40 countries on 4 continents.

After commissioning into the Royal Engineers in 1971, Tom worked in military road and airfield construction before joining the UK MOD Weapons Staff in 1982 and specialising in the design and procurement of military equipment.  Innovative magnesium-aluminium alloy bridging systems became the principal focus of his work for 20 years. Other projects included all-terrain vehicles, amphibians, artillery and small arms.

On promotion to Brigadier in 1998, he returned to civil engineering with responsibility for the British Army Estate and its long-neglected barracks construction programme. His interest in business management strongly influenced his approach to this challenging role. Over the next 5 years, he introduced economies of scale and partnering techniques for project management, applied them to a revised Army construction programme and made the case for PFI/PPP projects to regenerate the Army´s principal garrison towns, including `Project Allenby/Connaught´ for Aldershot-Tidworth-Bulford-Warminster. He also played a leading role in developing new accommodation standards for single soldiers and in consolidating the Army´s UK garrisons into core sites. The Army Board´s adoption of his vision of barracks as places where soldiers and their families would actually want to live was a significant achievement. It enabled him to formulate a 30-year barracks´ recovery strategy and create the `Army Estates Organization´ to deliver it. Leading the introduction of new project delivery methods, based on partnering, was another success.

In 2002, Tom left the Army to become Director General of the ICE where he leads a vibrant, global organisation focused on people: ICE members, staff and the worldwide society that ICE serves.  In this role, his energies are concentrated on helping shape tomorrow´s civil engineering profession whilst creating strategic opportunities for ICE, increasing its influence in public affairs and revitalising its operations around the world.  Engaging with employers across the industry, articulating the civil engineering response to climate change, advocating sustainable infrastructure development and increasing the value of ICE membership around the world are all key activities in his programme.  Creating greater operational efficiency, enhancing on-line / Web 2.0 capability and delivering more effective outputs are also high priorities.  As Deputy Chairman of TTL, he is helping build the growth of commercial success through better marketing and closer working between all parts of the ICE Group, which generated record profits of £3.1m in 2007.  In the international arena, Tom travels widely for ICE and as Secretary General of the Commonwealth Engineers Council.   In all these roles Tom´s direction is focused on developing a strong team, creating strategic partnerships, encouraging continuous improvement and putting the web at the heart of the ICE Group´s global business. Since 2007, he has served as a non-executive director on the Engineering Technology Board (ETB) to help guide public promotion of engineering across the UK. He continues to publish articles on defence technology, civil engineering and public monuments.

Tom and his wife Sally have two daughters.  He is a keen gardener, photographer, cyclist and skier.  Football is another passion.  During ten years as President, he helped the Royal Engineers Association Football Club retain the Army Challenge Cup for seven seasons. He remains a lifelong supporter of Newcastle United.  Tom enjoys travel, is an avid reader of history and derives great pleasure from his intermittent study of philosophy with the Open University.