Sir John Armitt CBE, FREng | |
---|---|
Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission | |
Assumed office 19 January 2018 | |
Appointed by | Philip Hammond |
Preceded by | The Lord Adonis |
Deputy Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission | |
In office 21 April 2017 –19 January 2018 Interim:5 October 2015 –21 April 2017 | |
Appointed by | George Osborne Philip Hammond |
Chair | The Lord Adonis |
Preceded by | Office created |
Succeeded by | Vacant |
Personal details | |
Born | John Alexander Armitt 2 February 1946 Edmonton,London,England |
Alma mater | Portsmouth University London Business School |
Occupation | Chairman,National Infrastructure Commission |
Sir John Alexander Armitt CBE FREng FICE (born 2 February 1946) is an English civil engineer,and current chairman of the UK's National Infrastructure Commission.
From 2007 Armitt was chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority,the body which successfully built the venues,facilities and infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic Games. He was president of the Institution of Civil Engineers for 2015–16, [1] and is president of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers for 2022. [2]
He was chairman of the Council of the City and Guilds of London Institute from 2012 to 2021,He was chairman of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council from 2007 until 2012. He was chairman of National Express from January 2013 until December 2022. [3]
Armitt was born in February 1946 in North London. [4] He is 6 ft 4 in tall. [5] He attended Portsmouth Northern Grammar School. He graduated in civil engineering from the Portsmouth College of Technology in 1966 and took his first job with John Laing. [4]
Armitt spent 27 years with John Laing,on various projects including the Sizewell B nuclear power station [6] rising to become the chairman of Laing's International and Civil Engineering Divisions. [7]
In 1993,he was appointed chief executive of Union Railways,the company responsible for implementing the Channel Tunnel rail link. From 1997 to 2001,he was chief executive of Costain Group, [7] which he converted from an annual loss of £62 million to a profit of £6.5 million. [8] In 2001 he became chief executive of Railtrack,and from 2002 to 2007 its successor,Network Rail, [4]
During his time at Network Rail he was believed by a survey sponsored by The Sunday Times to be the highest-paid public-sector employee in the UK. [9] Armitt's salary and bonus of £878,000 –rising to more than £1m [10] when pension contributions are included,overtaking Adam Crozier,chief executive of Royal Mail.
On 2 November 2012 the Government announced that Armitt would be a member of the Airports Commission. [11] He is a non executive director of the Berkeley Group and was a Transport for London board member from 2012 to 2016 [12]
The Armitt Review,an independent review of long-term UK infrastructure planning,was published in September 2013,and is Labour Party policy. [12] He was appointed to the National Infrastructure Commission in 2015,became deputy chairman in 2017 and was appointed chairman in 2018. In January 2023,his appointment as chairman was renewed for a further two years,through to January 2025. [13]
Also in January 2023,he was appointed as a non-executive director on the board of Tilbury Douglas's parent company,TD Bidco,owned and controlled by shareholders of Interserve. [14]
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1996 Birthday Honours for services to the rail industry. [15] [4] On 16 July 2007 Network Rail named New Measurement Train power car 43062 after him at London Euston. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering [16] and of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
He was knighted in the 2012 New Years Honours List for services to engineering and construction as chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority. [17] His knighthood was criticised by the family of a victim of the Grayrigg derailment,as Armitt had been serving as chief executive of Network Rail at the time of the 2007 accident. Network Rail were prosecuted for the incident on the same day that Armitt's knighthood was conferred. [18]
Network Rail Limited is the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's length" public body of the Department for Transport with no shareholders,which reinvests its income in the railways.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) was a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture,Media and Sport,responsible for ensuring the delivery of venues,infrastructure and legacy for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. Together with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG),the ODA was one of the two main agencies that organised the London Olympic Games.
Sir George Iacobescu is the Chairman and former chief executive officer (CEO) of Canary Wharf Group,the London-based owners and developers of the Canary Wharf estate in London Docklands. His successor,Shobi Khan,now runs the group and Sir George Chairs the board. He is one of the most successful Romanian-born businessmen. He is the only Romanian-born person to date to receive a substantive have British knighthood.
The Grayrigg derailment was a fatal railway accident that occurred at approximately 20:15 GMT on 23 February 2007,just to the south of Grayrigg,Cumbria,in the North West England region of the United Kingdom. The accident investigation concluded that the derailment was caused by a faulty set of points on the Down Main running line,controlled from Lambrigg ground frame. The scheduled inspection on 18 February 2007 had not taken place and the faults had gone undetected.
Iain Michael Coucher was the serving Chief Executive of the Atomic Weapons Establishment. He has worked as a consultant in the railway industry and held a number of management posts,most notably serving as the Chief Executive of Network Rail from 2007 to 2010.
Sir David Hartmann Higgins is an Australian-British businessman,the Chairman of United Utilities Group,Chairman of Gatwick Airport,and the former Non-Executive Chairman of High Speed Two (HS2). He was Chief Executive of the London 2012 Summer Olympics Delivery Authority and Network Rail.
Robert James Mair,Baron Mair,is a geotechnical engineer and Emeritus Sir Kirby Laing Professor of Civil Engineering and director of research at the University of Cambridge. He is Head of the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC). He was Master of Jesus College,Cambridge,from 2001 to 2011 and a fellow of St John's College,Cambridge,from 1998 to 2001. In 2014 he was elected a vice president of the Institution of Civil Engineers and on 1 November 2017 became the Institution's president for 2017–18,its 200th anniversary year. He was appointed an independent crossbencher in the House of Lords in 2015 and is currently a member of its Select Committee on Science and Technology.
Sir David Evan Naunton Davies is a British electrical engineer and educator,knighted for services to science and technology in the 1994 New Year Honours.
Sir Alan Walter Rudge CBE,FREng,FRS is a British electrical engineer. He was Chairman of the ERA Foundation from its formation until December 2012,after which he was appointed as the Foundation's President. In 2012 he also stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Management of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851,a position he had held for eleven years;he had succeeded Sir Denis Rooke and was himself succeeded by Bernard Taylor.
Peter George Hansford is an English civil engineer. He served as the 146th President of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) (2010-2011) and succeeded Paul Morrell as the UK government's chief construction adviser in November 2012.
Sir Horace William Alexander Francis CBE FREng is a British civil engineer.
Adrian Shooter was a British transport executive. He is best known for leading the newly privatised Chiltern Railways between 1996 and 2011,and for founding the Vivarail engineering company in 2012. A lifelong railway enthusiast,he had many other involvements with railways,both commercial and preserved,including the Ffestiniog Railway,the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and his own Beeches Light Railway.
Sir Terence Keith Morgan is a British engineer.
Patrick Joseph A. Dowling,CBE FRS was an Irish engineer and educationalist.
The National Infrastructure Commission is the executive agency responsible for providing expert advice to the UK Government on infrastructure challenges facing the UK.
In 2016 the Women's Engineering Society (WES),in collaboration with the Daily Telegraph,produced an inaugural list of the United Kingdom's Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering,which was published on National Women in Engineering Day on 23 June 2016. The event was so successful it became an annual celebration. The list was instigated by Dawn Bonfield MBE,then Chief Executive of the Women's Engineering Society. In 2019,WES ended its collaboration with the Daily Telegraph and started a new collaboration with The Guardian newspaper.
Professor Tim Broyd is an English civil engineer who was elected the 152nd President of the Institution of Civil Engineers,taking office in November 2016.
Rachel Susan Skinner is a British civil engineer with Canadian-based consultant WSP Global. She was named as one of the Daily Telegraph Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering in 2016 and both the Best Woman Civil Engineer and the Most Distinguished Winner of 2017 at the European Women in Construction and Engineering Awards. Skinner became the youngest ever president of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2020. In 2019,she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng). She was appointed CBE for services to Infrastructure in the 2022 New Year Honours.
Sir Douglas Edwin Oakervee FHKIE is a British civil engineer who is a past chairman of both High Speed 2 and Crossrail,and was the 139th president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was awarded the CBE in 2010 for his contributions to civil engineering and appointed Knight bachelor in 2022 for services to transport and infrastructure delivery.
Sir Joseph Anthony Dwyer was a British civil engineer and businessman. He joined Wimpey in 1955 and spent 44 years with the firm,becoming chief executive officer and chairman.