ICE Summer Prestige Debate 2025

David Porter

David Porter is the director of engineering at the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), which makes him the chief highways engineer for Northern Ireland.

He is also the head of the civil engineering profession within the Northern Ireland civil service. He’s responsible for the development of the department’s professional and technical staff, engineering policies and standards, and health and safety.

Previously, David was the chief executive of the Rivers Agency, the flood defence and drainage authority for Northern Ireland.

David is a past chair of the Northern Ireland region of the ICE. He’s been on the ICE Council three times: two terms as the Northern Ireland representative, and one as a general member.

Dr Janvi Shah

A Chartered Engineer of more than 15 years’ standing, Dr Janvi Shah has been head of highways asset management for Arcadis in the UK since May 2024. 

When she was head of asset management strategy at National Highways in 2021-23, she led a cross-directorate transformation programme that improved the company’s asset management capability. This enabled it to achieve ISO 55000 certification. 
 
More recently, Shah served as assistant director of place, strategy and performance at Birmingham City Council. There, she developed its place-making directorate’s approach to governance and performance management, establishing an efficiency programme. 
 
A visiting lecturer at both University College London and the University of Birmingham, she has presented at many conferences and won several awards for her work. 

Shah, who contributed to the ICE’s 2025 annual State of Nation report, sits on the women’s network committee at the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation.

Helen Rowe

In her role at Kent County Council’s highways and transportation directorate, Helen Rowe leads several engineering teams working across the county’s 2,100-plus highway structures – an asset portfolio with a replacement value estimated at £1.3bn. 

Both a Chartered Engineer and a chartered construction manager, Rowe chairs the national bridges group for the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport. 

Rowe’s interests include nurturing the next generation of engineers. She does this through her work as an ICE mentor and as a STEM ambassador on a student outreach programme funded by UK Research and Innovation. 

In 2024 she won two industry accolades: a Top 50 Women in Engineering Award from the Women’s Engineering Society and the Motivational Leader of the Year Award from the Chartered Institute of Building.