Rail In Wales Event
Friday 12 March 2021 | 10am - 12pm
The Rail In Wales Event will cover transport and policy issues facing Wales, ahead of the Senedd elections.
Agenda
10am | Welcome, Max Sugarman, Public Affairs & PR Director, Railway Industry Association
10.05am | Panel Discussion, followed by a Q&A session, with:
- Mike Gallop, Interim Managing Director, Wales and Western, Network Rail;
- Simon Jones, Director for Economic Infrastructure, Welsh Government;
- Professor Mark Barry, Professor of Practice in Connectivity;
- James Davies, Executive Chairman, Industry Wales;
- Emma Dymond, Chief Executive Officer, Motion Rail;
11am | Policy Workshop begins
12pm| Event closes
Speakers
Prof Mark Barry, Cardiff University
Mark has over thirty years’ international experience in multiple industries including management consultancy, biotech, IT, finance, economic development & transport.
After graduating in Physics at Manchester in 1985, Mark’s early career was in software design, development & implementation. From 1997 to 2002 he worked for the PA Consulting Group in London leading major projects for clients in Europe and North America. In 2003 he founded and was until 2009, CEO of biotech company Q Chip Ltd.
In February 2011, Mark's report, "A Metro for Wales' Capital City Region - Connecting Cardiff, Newport and the Valleys" was published by The Cardiff Business Partnership in conjunction with The Institute of Welsh Affairs. That report made the case for a step change in inter and intra-regional connectivity and city region governance for land use planning, transport & economic development to help grow the economy of south east Wales.
"A Cardiff City Region Metro: transform | regenerate | connect" was published by the Metro Consortium in March 2013, which led to a commission from the Welsh Government to produce, “A Cardiff Capital Region Metro: Impact Study”, published in November 2013.
From November 2013 to January 2016 Mark led Metro Development for the Welsh Government; working with senior officials and Ministers he helped secure commitment to progress the project at the end of 2015.
Since then, Mark has led a strategic study for Welsh Ministers to support further rail investment in Wales culminating in the Publication of, “The Rail Network in Wales – The Case for Investment”, in October 2018. In 2019 Mark also supported work with WG and the Swansea Bay City Region for the development of Metro and with Cardiff Council in the development of the “Cardiff Crossrail”. Since April 2021 Mark has also been a Strategic Advisor to Transport for Wales.
In 2016, Mark also took up a role as Professor of Practice in Connectivity at Cardiff University where he is helping develop research, impact & engagement opportunities related to The South Wales Metro. In 2018 that work led to the successful “Metro and Me” event in October and in 2019 he has led a discussion related to Transit Oriented Development in South east Wales. He also presented evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee in January 2021 as part of their review of rail investment in Wales.
James Davies, Executive Chairman, Industry Wales
Born on the Gower and graduating from Swansea University (Mech Eng), he worked for 32 years at CalsonicKansei, a Tier 1 Automotive supplier, in UK, Europe and Japan, leading their Thermal Management Division ($2.5bn).
In April 2017, he became Executive Chair of Industry Wales, to bring voice of Technology and Manufacturing industry to Welsh Government including responsibility for three Industry sector forum – Electronics/Software (ESTnet), Automotive (WAF) and Aerospace (AFW).
A Member of the Higher Education Funding Council of Wales (HEFCW), he also sits on the Ministerial Advisory Board (MAB) for Economy & Transport in Wales, as well various Regional Strategy groups such as Swansea Bay City Deal, Tech Valleys (Blaenau Gwent), Valleys TaskForce (A465 Economic Strategy). He recently finished as a Commissioner (Burns Commission) to progress the South East Wales Traffic concerns.
Recently joined as Board Member of Respiratory Innovation Wales to support business and industry engagement in Health Innovation.
Industry Wales (ALB company of Welsh Government), together with its specialist aerospace, automotive and electronics, software and technology Forums, is helping to grow Welsh technology and manufacturing businesses, globally.
Led by the private sector and working closely with the Welsh Government, Academia and other bodies, Industry Wales is focussed on addressing key areas of improvement to achieve sustained, profitable growth in the economy: Innovation, Investment, Skills, Supply Chain capability and reach, Integration with UK and EU wide programmes. The Forums, with a combined membership of 500 leading Welsh companies, provide a range of services to support companies already established within Wales and to attract and support companies that are seeking a world class location for their business.
Emma Dymond, CEO, Motion Rail
Surrounded by great role models, Emma Dymond was bought up believing gender has no boundaries. Joining the railway at 18 with the help of the Princes Trust, Emma became a maintenance cable jointer, Local Delivery Manager and Tester in Charge before she set up Motion in 2009 and became CEO – a real boots on ballast to the boardroom career!
Establishing and building SME Motion, recognised as the seventh fastest growing company in Wales and won the RIA Rise Growth Award in 2020 has not been easy. Emma champions fair treatment and is supporting Network Rail and RIA progress the SME strategy - including certainty of and managing the work bank for the industry.
Named as the WiR inspirational woman of the year 2020, Emma is passionate about PEOPLE. She believes empowerment is key and is committed to providing the right skills, tools and techniques and works with several organisations including Jobs Growth Wales to get young people into work.
Building the first virtual reality railway to deliver training, enabling people to learn and practice in a safe environment, Emma developed Motional Reality further and took the railway to the classroom! Engaging and inspiring the next generation, not for profit Motion Reality promotes diversity and continues the philosophy that gender has no boundaries, and we are all equal.
Simon Jones, Director for Economic Infrastructure, Welsh Government
A Chartered Engineer, Simon has delivered complex national infrastructure projects in Wales and overseas, has led large multi-disciplinary teams and has successfully managed business units within the UK’s largest engineering consultancy.
Since July 2017 Simon has been Director for Economic Infrastructure, Department for Economy and Transport at the Welsh Government. Simon’s directorate includes Transport, ICT Infrastructure and Property.
Simon has the broad track record and reputation to deliver this role, as well as the recent experience of doing so successfully. He has built a team, worked with Ministers and understands the wider strategic objectives.