David Coles
Chief Engineer, Department for Transport
David joined the Department for Transport’s High Speed 2 team in 2016 and was recently appointed Chief Engineer for the whole department. He leads a team advising on all technical and operational aspects of DfT’s major infrastructure projects.
For 13 years he was Engineering Director of two railway consultancy businesses, acting as technical lead on numerous international projects, including high speed railways in Europe and the USA and metro and heavy haul railway projects in Africa, Turkey and Australia.
Prior to that David spent 20 years managing major railway renewal and maintenance projects for British Rail, Railtrack and Network Rail. He is a chartered civil engineer and director and former chairman of the Railway Civil Engineers’ Association.
Stuart Calvert
Capital Delivery Director, Wales and Western Region, Network Rail
Stuart has 37 years rail industry experience having joined British Rail as a sponsored student in 1982. He holds a B.Eng in Civil and Structural Engineering and an MBA in project management. He moved into the supply chain in 1999 and has worked as a contractor, consultant and manufacturer with responsibility for project work throughout the UK and European mainland railways.
Stuart joined Network Rail in 2016, initially leading the Digital Railway early contractor involvement programme before becoming Interim Managing Director for Group Digital Railway in March 2019. In his current role Stuart is a member of the Wales and Western regional executive leadership team with functional responsibility for the management of all renewals and enhancement projects, a portfolio with and annual spend of circa £1Bn.
Hannah Vickers
CEO of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE)
A civil engineer by profession, Hannah is chief executive of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) which represents the businesses who design, deliver, and manage our national infrastructure.
She is a member of the Construction Leadership Council’s COVID-19 Taskforce, helping to shape the industry response to the pandemic, and spearheaded the launch of the industry-wide skills platform, the Construction Talent Retention Scheme.
Tim Chapman
Director, Infrastructure Design, Arup
Tim is leader of Arup’s London based infrastructure group which works on a wide range of projects throughout the world. He also leads their London office, home to over 2,700 staff working across the built environment He has a keen interest in whole system engineering to provide complete solutions, and improving infrastructure so it is more useful to society, buildable and lower carbon.
In 2014 Tim was elected a Fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering, and in 2016 he was invited to join the Technical Advisory Group for the UK National Infrastructure Commission.
Stewart Piercy
Senior Engineering Manager, Costain Group plc
Stewart leads Costain’s early contractor engagement work in the rail industry in the South of England supporting a variety of Clients and Designers to develop engineering solutions that best fit their operational needs and focus on assured delivery, risk management and programme efficiency.
Stewart has been working in the rail industry for Tier 1 contractors for 20-years and alongside being a Chartered Civil Engineer, is a member of the Transport Planning Society supporting his interest in management of the construction and railway operations interface. He is currently the Immediate Past Chair of the Railway Civil Engineers’ Association.