Future Leader

from RISE Awards Brochure

by Railway Industry Association

Collaboration

Shortlist

Future Leader

David Westcough Atkins – Member of SNC Lavalin Group

Described as ‘approachable, ‘collaborative’, ‘dedicated’, ‘driven’, ‘empathetic’, ‘hardworking’, ‘helpful’, ‘innovative’, ‘inquisitive’, ‘inspirational’, ‘knowledgeable’, ‘personable’ and ‘reliable’ by clients and colleagues, David has already established trusted relationships and developed a great reputation in just four years. Collaborating with new suppliers outside the industry, David has been influential in the introduction and operation of an innovative hydrogenpowered passenger train, a first for the UK railway industry. David participates in industry working groups, presents at conferences and is widely recognised as an industry decarbonisation expert. Passionate about supporting other young professionals develop their careers, David has been involved with YRP since 2017. Leading the collaboration with other industry associations to organise networking events and reach a wider audience, David’s passion and commitment was recognised by his peers when he was voted in as the National Chair in 2018. During his time as Chair, David led the launch of a new website improving member engagement and interaction with a wider audience. As a result, membership increased by circa 1000 in 12 months and includes young professionals from overseas, helping to bridge the industry’s skill gap.

#RISEAwards20

Gregg Macdonald – Siemens Mobility

Showing all the qualities of a first class leader, Gregg is dedicated, tenacious and has great interpersonal skills, with a capacity to focus on the minute detail of a project, as well as to see everything in the context of the broader, strategic business picture.

During the COVID-19 pandemic Gregg proactively took responsibility for managing the procurement and allocation of PPE, making sure that staff continued to be safe and protected at work. Despite extreme procurement and logistical challenges, Gregg’s innovative work was exemplary, ensuring not only the safety and wellbeing of our teams across the country, but also that our facilities remained fully operational throughout.

In his Business Excellence role, Gregg delivers projects across the business which have major benefits. Recently he delivered a project to provide the company’s 750 depot-based technicians with handheld technology to replace a paper-based system, digitalising all processes and procedures and in the process saving 3.1 million sheets of A4 paper each year.

Shortlist

Jo Hensher – Siemens Mobility

Jo has all the skills and attributes to be an outstanding business and industry leader. With the aptitude, intelligence, determination and confidence to succeed at the very highest level, Jo is already part of the Siemens’ pilot Women in Leadership programme.

Working at all times to high professional and personal standards, Jo has grown in her 10 years with Siemens with her most recent roles seeing combine leading the company’s HS2 bid with an active leadership role with the Procurement Project management team.

Appointed Head of Siemens Mobility’s HS2 rolling stock bid, Jo earned trust and respect across the Siemens group for her ability to work with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders and to mobilise a team of 100+ staff across three countries to deliver a bid on schedule and to an exceptionally high standard. Jo is passionate about a range of issues and commits fully and wholeheartedly to them. As a champion for diversity and equality, since 2016 she has been a member of the Siemens Mobility EDI steering committee, which has a major influence on company policy. For five years, she was also a trustee of Think Global, an educational charity established to help young people understand and promote critical thinking around global issues.