Judges

Huda leads Accenture’s UKI Capital Projects and Infrastructure Practice and is passionate about ensuring critical infrastructure maximises benefits for people, supports the planet and keeps it safe for future generations. Huda’s 20 year career experience to date has included government, having worked at the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) which reports to both Cabinet office an HM Treasury where she co- authored the Construction Playbook which sets out key policies and guidance for how major public works projects and programmes are assessed, procured and delivered to include innovation and delivery sustainability. Prior to that Huda worked for a Big Four consultancy where she was recruited to deliver work on critical national infrastructure programmes such the London 2012 Olympics, Network Rail, National Grid, Thames Tideway Tunnel and others. Huda’s purpose is to encourage the use of technology and digitisation to support a sustainable, inclusive diverse and productive infrastructure and construction sector. She is a Chartered civil engineer.

Alison has extensive experience in both strategic leadership of projects and operational implementation. She has 25years experience in the water and environmental sector and since 2018 is Director of Project Delivery in Infrastructure and Projects Authority in the Cabinet Office where her portfolio is Public and Security Services including joint lead with Government Digital Service on functional support for all government Transformation programmes. Alison leads the Cabinet Office response to Project Speed in the areas of social infrastructure build and is lead Director on Net Zero and Sustainable Development Goals for the whole Government Major Projects Portfolio. Alison is a graduate of the government’s Major Projects Leadership Academy and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. She was awarded a CBE for services to the environment, New Year’s Honours 2019. She lives on the North Downs with her family and her dog.

Harbinder is an Architect and Creative Director of Birdi & Partners a London based design consultancy that advises government bodies and the private sector on the design of major infrastructure projects. He was the Principal Architect for the design of three of the stations for the Stirling Prize winning, Elizabeth Line and was also the Principal Architect for the central section of Thames Tideway Tunnel. He is a Professor at the University of Cambridge,  teaching on the Master of Design Tripos, a course that combines the study of engineering, architecture, material science and the arts.  He is a fellow of the RIBA, ICE and RSA .

Clare is an Engineering Geologist with twenty five years’ experience working primarily on railway embankments and cuttings. She spent nearly ten years working as a designer with Donaldson Associates Ltd. in Glasgow and York followed by fourteen years with Network Rail’s Geotechnical Route Asset Management team, also based in York. In early 2023 Clare moved to a Principal Programme Engineer role with Network Rails’ Eastern Region Regional Engineering team and is tasked with ensuring that the response to recommendations from accident investigations provide the improvement outcomes intended.

Darren Capes has over 35 years’ experience working in local and central Government. He is a Fellow of the IET and IHE and worked in most areas of municipal engineering with emphasis on design, construction, evaluation, transport planning, and technology development and implementation. Darren has a particular interest in emerging transport technologies and is Vice President of the IHE and Chair of the Transport Policy Panel of the IET. He manages the Transport Technology Forum for the DfT and speaks regularly on the challenges of emerging transport technology in the UK and internationally.

Kara is an experienced water industry and innovation specialist. She has extensive experience within the UK water sector including water and wastewater operations, strategy and innovation. In her role at Innovate UK, her portfolio covers water systems, net zero innovation within urban environments and the growth and application of digital twinning. She has led business cohorts on global innovation programmes and is currently delivering £60m of innovation investment with UK local authorities, taking a place-based approach to overcome non technological barriers to accelerate the transition to net zero.

Andrea is the Head of Carbon and Climate Change at High Speed 2. She is responsible for leading specialists (air quality, carbon and climate change) in assessing impacts, drafting, ensuring environmental requirements are met across the project. This includes setting ambitious requirements and ambitions to drive environmental sustainability. Andrea experience extends across a number large scale infrastructure projects within the mining, transportation and industrial sectors across Africa, Europe and the UK. She has a keen interest in innovation and the role it plays across challenging sectors. She aims to inspire effective collaboration, driving innovate technologies to reduce impacts across industries.

Adrian is the global energy advisory lead at AECOM. He advises a portfolio of clients ranging from utilities, oil and gas companies to low carbon players, start-ups, investors and government. The topics he covers includes low carbon investments (such as offshore wind, EV charging, hydrogen and carbon capture), energy security, ESG and navigating the energy transition. Adrian has undertaken senior roles in the management consulting industry, including PwC, Booz Allen Hamilton and EY. He was also the managing director of a boutique energy consulting firm where he worked with the former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond and Lord Moynihan. Adrian has a degree in French and Spanish from Southampton University and a Masters in International History from the London School of Economics.

Adrian is the global energy advisory lead at AECOM. He advises a portfolio of clients ranging from utilities, oil and gas companies to low carbon players, start-ups, investors and government. The topics he covers includes low carbon investments (such as offshore wind, EV charging, hydrogen and carbon capture), energy security, ESG and navigating the energy transition. Adrian has undertaken senior roles in the management consulting industry, including PwC, Booz Allen Hamilton and EY. He was also the managing director of a boutique energy consulting firm where he worked with the former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond and Lord Moynihan.

Adrian has a degree in French and Spanish from Southampton University and a Masters in International History from the London School of Economics. Adrian is the global energy advisory lead at AECOM. He advises a portfolio of clients ranging from utilities, oil and gas companies to low carbon players, start-ups, investors and government. The topics he covers includes low carbon investments (such as offshore wind, EV charging, hydrogen and carbon capture), energy security, ESG and navigating the energy transition.

Adrian has undertaken senior roles in the management consulting industry, including PwC, Booz Allen Hamilton and EY. He was also the managing director of a boutique energy consulting firm where he worked with the former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond and Lord Moynihan. Adrian has a degree in French and Spanish from Southampton University and a Masters in International History from the London School of Economics.

Yuli is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE) with nearly 30 years’ experience in geotechnical engineering, and in particular with geosynthetics. Yuli has worked as a Geotechnical Engineer for 10 years in Hong Kong and since her return in the UK some 18 years ago, she has been working for Tensar International overseeing projects’ designs in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Russia and Asia Pacific. Yuli has served as a past Chair of the UK Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) and the ICE NW Region and she is currently the Vice Chair of the British Geotechnical Association (BGA) and an Appointed Board Member of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE).

Rob is a solicitor and mediator with an M&E background. He has experience from private practice law firms and in-house teams. Rob has risen through the ranks to director level leading teams in policy, business and law for over two decades. Rob has dealt with over 4000 designers, suppliers, installers or service and maintenance (FM) operators in the engineering services sector and regularly advised consultants.

• CN Talent 2019 Mentor of the Year, EDI Leader of the Year and Role Model 2018/19 UKCW.
• Founder of the LHON Society charity and the Process Innovation Factory.
• Chairs the Payment Group of the SME advisory panel to Crown Commercial Services/Cabinet Office CLC Business Models member on digital/smart contracts, retentions, payment and contractual fair practice

Carolyn has 40 years experience in the sector, including the planning, financing and delivery of major projects, regeneration, placemaking and development of cultural strategies and programmes. She holds a portfolio of Non Executive roles in the sector and is a Commissioner with the National Preparedness Commission. 

Jo has over 30 years of project delivery experience of complex projects. This has primarily been in the built environment, both in the UK and Internationally, including aviation, rail, water, data centres, commercial, residential and hotels. Jo has held senior leadership roles at Mace, Southern Water, Heathrow Airport, DE&S (MOD), before her current position at the IPA. She brings extensive leadership experience in project and programme management through the whole delivery lifecycle, which technical expertise in planning, project controls and digital systems. Jo’s current day job at IPA is spent overseeing DFT’s largest rail and road projects, along with supporting MOJ’s prison building programme.

Liz has 25 years’ experience delivering projects and programmes, spanning major transport infrastructure, business change, ICT and modernisation. Liz has worked on some of the UK’s largest infrastructure programmes and shaped and developed investment propositions for many others. She has undertaken delivery, sponsorship and advisory roles for a number of public sector organisations, and her focus on strategic outcomes led to her current role in the Customer, Strategy and Communications function within National Highways where she is currently the Director for Strategic Customer Projects leading teams to deliver a range of transformational change programmes including HM Government’s significant investment into EV charging infrastructure for road users.

Guy Gregory works for Anglian Water and is the Digital Twin and Data Officer within the Strategic Pipeline Alliance, which is delivering one of the largest infrastructure projects in the UK. He has 33 years experience in the water industry and is a Chartered Civil Engineer, with a further qualification in Engineering Management.

Professor David Hancock is a chartered engineer and the senior commercial advisor in the Cabinet Office providing construction and project support across Government departments. A graduate of the Major Projects Leadership Academy and a high-risk project reviewer. He chairs the Government Construction Community and sits on a variety of government boards including Buckingham Palace refurbishment, the British Antarctic Survey, the 'Modern Woman' advisory panel and is non-executive chair of CIRIA. Renowned internationally as a leading thinker and practitioner in the field of behavioural risk. He has a Degree and PhD in engineering from the University of Nottingham alongside an MBA from Bath and is honorary professor at The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, UCL.

Lindsey has 20 years experience in the technical design and delivery of major infrastructure projects and mixed use development schemes. Lindsey has led on the delivery of multi million construction schemes for Thames Water and the Environment Agency. Lindsey is currently leading on infrastructure and engineering to facilitate the development and delivery of high-quality, sustainable homes and workspace in and around Oxford, including two new innovation districts, working for the £4bn Joint Venture Partnership between Oxford University and Legal & General.

Guy Ledger has more than 35 years working at AtkinsRealis, joining a graduate in 1989. His current role is Practice Director for AtkinsRealis’ Utility Solution business. He regards his most notable achievement to have led AtkinsRealis delivery of the National Underground Asset Register – shortlisted at the 2024 NCE Awards. Overall, Guy an experienced consultant and business leader with a collaborative, forward-thinking mindset derived from a variety of roles within the company, including people leadership, major project delivery, business development, and technology leadership. Guy's expertise primarily stem from providing consultancy services to the UK Water Industry and later to the planning and development sector.

Chris joined Bloom from Capital Industrial where he was Capital Projects Manager for six years responsible for the redevelopment and refurbishment of the full portfolio of industrial properties. Before joining Capital Industrial in 2016, Chris was Property Development Manager at Ocado, where he was responsible for the acquisition and development of various properties within the UK and Europe. Prior to joining Ocado, he worked at Faithful+Gould for multiple funds across the UK

Jon is the Director of Infrastructure, Enterprise and Growth at the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, (the government's centre of expertise for infrastructure and major projects). He advises on project delivery across half of the government's major projects; his £350bn portfolio includes all major transport, industry, energy, housing, foreign affairs, environmental and digital. Prior to joining the IPA, Jon spent ten years in executive roles within the utilities sector for Thames Water, BT Openreach and Clancy. Responsibilities included business strategy, transformation, capital programmes, operations, commercial, international supply chain and logistics. Jon pioneered long-term collaborative alliance contracts and behavioural procurement techniques, winning national awards as both Client of the Year and Supplier of the Year. A chartered quantity surveyor, Jon spent the early part of his career successfully managing large construction and infrastructure projects and later in executive operational, commercial and procurement roles for two of the UK's largest and fastest growing tier 1 infrastructure businesses.

Senior digital consultant with a background in engineering geology and specialism in geotechnical information management. Experience includes managing geotechnical information across small and large-scale UK infrastructure, design management and information management.  Jonny also sits on the AGS Data Management Working Group.

Clive Nichol is founder and CEO of Fabrix, a transformational real estate developer. Fabrix has pioneered a highly-flexible and progressive approach to development, breathing life back into land and buildings alongside capital partners who share a commitment to shaping a more sustainable and equitable world. He is CEO of Atelier Gardens, the award-winning impact campus in Berlin, and MD of Berliner Union Film Atelier. Clive is chairman of emerging artist platform Creative Debuts, a Bankside Open Spaces Trust ambassador and member of the NLA Workspace Expert Panel, RICS and IPF.

Dr. Vincent Nyambayo is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Chief Geotechnical Engineer at Atkins.  He holds a PhD from Imperial College London where he developed a novel methodology for simulating pore pressures induced by vegetation and progressive failure of slopes using numerical modelling. He has more than 25 years international experience in ground characterisation, design and site supervision of various geotechnical works.  He is a member of the Editorial Board of Emap’s Ground Engineering magazine as well as technical committee TC302 (Forensic Geotechnics) of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

Rachel leads Mace’s Resilience business covering nuclear, water and energy. She has over 20 years experience in large projects and programmes. She is an alumni of the ICE Windsor leadership programme.

Programme Productivity Director for Lower Thames Crossing, one of the most ambitious roads projects in the UK, leading the productivity agenda improving economic performance. Previously responsible for leading logistics, risk, quality and improvement, on the M25 J10 construction project. Using technology and bold thinking to drive innovation for the road user and market leading productivity levels, on a journey of “Right First Time”. Streamline logistics to enhance productivity and increasing efficiency and significantly reducing carbon.  Centralising logistics to provide a best value model for the programme. Between 2015-2020 Nicole was the Operational Excellence Director on the A14 Complex Infrastructure Project, improving performance, integration and led the legacy programme. Accountable for realising £200m of construction efficiency savings with the industry, through collaborating with the supply chain to enable increased daily production rates, reducing waste, protecting critical path activities. She feels extremely lucky and privileged to have a career that she loves and is committed to, working with construction teams to improve motivation - resulting in improved performance and reduced spend.

Vanessa Quansah is Head of Construction Engineering at Lendlease, where she leads a team of engineers specialising in temporary works and building methods. She has 12+ years' experience securing and delivering a major portfolio of work across the UK. Including complex projects such as renovations at Imperial War Museum and Tate Modern and extensive jacking and load transfer of the steelwork at the Google KGX1 project. Vanessa is passionate about excellence and best practice. A Chartered Engineer active in mentoring, member of Demolition Engineers, finalist for the Women in Construction and Engineering Awards and continuously driving carbon zero ESG goals.

Joao joined East West Rail Company in January 2022 as the Head of Asset Management & Maintenance to help deliver the company’s vision and objectives. He started his career in academia and has a PhD in Civil Engineering. Previously Joao worked for Network Rail where he began by managing structures assets in the Southern Region and then went to lead the Asset Management Team in Network Rail High Speed.

Dan has extensive UK and international experience as a civil and infrastructure designer, leading and managing multidisciplinary teams in the delivery of projects and programmes in both private and public sectors to achieve better outcomes and benefits to society. A Chartered Civil Engineer and Chartered Project Professional, Dan currently advises on major project delivery across a number of transport and infrastructure projects and programmes on the UK Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP), and has a personal interest in promoting innovation and improvements in project delivery in a sustainable way.

With over 39 years’ engineering experience Lawrence is currently Transport Scotland’s Director of Major Projects. Responsible for the roads programme, including the £multibillion A9 and A96 Dualling projects, he is also Director of Purchasing.

Vara is the Engineering Services Delivery Director of High Speed Two (HS2) Limited. He is a chartered engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. His 25-year career spans global and cross-sector leadership on transportation/civil-aviation, offshore, oil & gas, power generation and infrastructure projects. In addition to Civil Engineering qualifications, Vara also holds a Master’s Degree in Information Systems and is a Professional Member of the British Computer Society.

Matt leads the project management team on the transformation of the 85 acre development at Wembley Park, with specific responsibility for design management, procurement and construction. Matt’s role includes the establishment of contractor framework, commercial and contractual negotiation of development and infrastructure contracts, programme and quality management and the implementation of site wide logistics strategy. Over the last 10 years Matt has successfully delivered residential, commercial, hotel, retail, infrastructure and public realm projects totaling 2.6m sq ft and at present is managing the construction of over 3,500 homes, Infrastructure and public realm.