Speaker profiles

Councillor Roger Gough, Leader Kent County Council

Roger Gough became Leader of Kent County Council in October 2019 after more than six years as the Cabinet Member for Education and then children’s services more generally. He has been the Member for Darent Valley, Sevenoaks, since May 2013.

After gaining a first class honours degree from Oxford University, Roger worked in Japan for three years as a financial sector analyst, followed by more than 10 years in London for various investment banks.

Before his election to KCC, Roger’s political life included two years with the Conservative Party’s Democracy Task Force and a further three years as a Research Director at the Policy Exchange.

Richard Hicks, Medway Council Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive As Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive, Richard drives the delivery of the council’s placemaking agenda, seeking to establish Medway as a great place to live, to work, to learn and to visit.

Richard has responsibility for Frontline Services, Culture and Community, Regeneration and Communications and Marketing.

Richard has held a number of roles at Medway since its inception in 1998, and before that time worked in a range of positions across Kent County Council, both at corporate and service level. Kitty Ussher, Chief Economist, Institute of Directors Kitty Ussher is a UK macroeconomist and public policy research professional who has worked as the Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors since September 2021.

A former MP for Burnley, Kitty served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury (‘City minister’) during the early phase of the financial crisis and subsequently as a junior minister at the Department for Work and Pensions.

In 2010 Kitty moved to the private sector and set up her own company Tooley Street Research specialising in public policy thought leadership research projects for large corporates and charities.

She has served on the FCA consumer panel and in addition to her current role at the IoD, holds two NonExecutive Director positions: for the LGPS asset manager, London CIV, and also the UK subsidiary of the fintech, Revolut.

From 2017-19 she undertook a two-year sabbatical teaching GCSE maths in inner-city schools under the Now Teach programme for senior professionals.

Adam Bryan, Chief Executive Officer, South East LEP Since late 2015, Adam has been responsible for directing the successes of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership – the business-led body for promoting and enabling economic growth spanning East Sussex, Essex, Medway, Kent, Southend and Thurrock. The LEP orchestrates investment in schemes which support the growth of the economy in the area and Adam’s team ensures that the LEP board deploys its spending power of some £850m to best effect and according to a strong suite of local strategies which are developed in strong collaboration with a vast range of local stakeholders.

Get involved with the Lower Thames Crossing

The Lower Thames Crossing is the most ambitious road project for a generation. By almost doubling road capacity across the Thames east of London and easing congestion on the Dartford Crossing, the road will improve journeys for millions every year, connect people to jobs and businesses, and drive regional growth.

Join our supply chain

We’ll need more than 22,000 people on our team during the building phase, from engineers and designers, to caterers and IT support. We therefore want to hear from companies of all sizes – including small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) – who might be interested in working on the Lower Thames Crossing.

Register your interest today to find out more about the upcoming opportunities. Search Lower Thames Crossing Supply Chain Directory or scan the QR code to enter your business details on our website.