Natalie Allen | Strategy & Change Director | Anglia Railway
Natalie was recently appointed into a Joint Executive position as GBR Anglia's Strategy and Change Director bringing together c2c, GA and Network Rail Anglia route colleagues. She leads on GBR readiness; strategic freight growth across the areas; resilience and business continuity and oversees the delivery of major capital investment projects across the area. Prior to this, Natalie was Director of Transformation for Anglia route heading up the change portfolio across the route. She's held several strategic roles at Network Rail, including Anglia Principal Programme Sponsor, overseeing a broad portfolio of enhancement and renewals projects. Passionate about diversity and inclusion, I work with organisations like Women in Rail and the Chartered Institution of Rail Operators to improve access, training and representation across the industry.
Robert Cairns | Major Investment & Capital Transformation Director | Network Rail
Rob Cairns is Major Investments & Capital Transformation Director at Network Rail, where he is helping shape how infrastructure and capital investment are integrated within the emerging Great British Railways model.
His role focuses on strengthening the connection between investment strategy, delivery capability, asset performance and whole-system railway outcomes. This includes major programme and portfolio diagnostics, capital-delivery improvement, infrastructure reliability, investment pipelines, signalling-market strategy and industry engagement across the supply chain.
Rob brings extensive leadership experience across major rail operations, capital delivery, systems integration, commercial management and performance improvement. He has previously led Network Rail’s Western & Wales region and served as Capital Delivery Director for the Eastern Region, overseeing significant investment portfolios delivered through complex client and supplier ecosystems.
At the Rail Supply Chain Forum 2026, Rob will examine how the sector can move from a clearly articulated rail vision to practical delivery — and what the supply chain needs to understand, prepare for and act upon as that journey develops.
Laura Heath | Integration Lead | DFT Operator
Laura joined Network Rail as a Graduate Trainee in 2007 on the General Management Training Scheme. She has held a number of operational and transformation roles within Network Rail and was proud to lead Charing Cross and Cannon Street stations during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Laura was seconded to the Department for Transport in 2022 as part of an industry talent programme, where she held a key senior policy role overseeing the workforce reform programme.
Latterly, Laura served as Business Manager within Network Rail’s Southern Region, supporting the Regional Managing Director and leading work across safety, customer experience, performance and subsidy-reduction plans. Laura is currently on secondment to DfT Operator Ltd as Integration Lead.
She has successfully supported the mobilisation and launch of Integrated Railways across South Eastern, South Western and GBR Anglia. Within DfT Operator, Laura leads the Integrated Railways programme, a key foundation for the creation of Great British Railways in 2027.
Ivan Lucic | Senior Director of Integrated Systems & Global Principal – Systems thinking and Assurance | Jacobs
Ivan Lucic is a recognised systems engineering and assurance leader with over two decades of experience delivering complex infrastructure and railway programmes. He specialises in applying systems thinking to solve challenging integration, assurance, safety, and delivery problems, helping organisations achieve better outcomes with pragmatic, risk-based approaches.
Ivan has led assurance and systems integration strategies on some of the UK's largest rail programmes, including the Transpennine Route Upgrade, where he introduced an innovative progressive assurance approach recognised as industry best practice. He is also a Steering Group member of the Built Environment Connective, helping shape the application of systems thinking across major UK infrastructure projects.
A Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the IMechE and IET, and author of Risk and Safety in Engineering Processes, Ivan is a respected industry thought leader who has contributed to international standards, published extensively, and led multidisciplinary working groups across industry, academia, and government.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." — Albert Einstein.
Bryony Goldsmith | Senior Programme Director | Arcadis
Bryony is currently the Head of Railway Systems Integration for the Piccadilly Line Update, a £3.4bn investment programme, modernising the Line to run more reliably, safely, inclusively and sustainably. Prior to this, Bryony held key leadership roles on the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade and the Digital Railway Programme, a rail industry-wide programme designed to benefit Great Britain’s economy by accelerating the digital enablement of the railway. Bryony started her career in the development of Scientific Research Facilities in Oxford and Central London, supporting life changing research in Dementia. Bryony then worked across Europe supporting the development of the Global Corporate Strategies, and also in the Middle East, on the Ashghal £7 billion Programme of Social Infrastructure
across Qatar.
Kayleigh Spires | Major Programme Director | Network Rail | East West Rail
Kayleigh was seconded to East West Rail in July 2025 to join the EWR Executive Team as Industry Integration Director.
She has been with Network Rail for 15 years in senior sponsorship and delivery roles, including leadership positions on both Crossrail and HS2.
Prior to joining Network Rail, Kayleigh worked in the private sector for Lend Lease.
Benjamin Rule| Railway Operations Director| East West Railway Company
Ben’s career has seen him develop a deep understanding of running railways and then use that experience to inform some of the biggest investments in the national rail network. Ben is currently the Railway Operations Director for East West Rail. He leads the team that provides the railway operating expertise for the East West Rail programme including specifying the future rolling stock. He was previously Operations and Maintenance Director at HS2 where he created the operating concept for the new railway and led the future Infrastructure Manager organisation. His previous experience includes senior roles at CrossCountry and GWR and he started his career in frontline operating roles in Railtrack and Network Rail. Ben was on the Board of the Chartered Institution of Railway Operators from 2018-2024.
Sam El-Jouzi | Major Programmes Delivery Director and Global Principal High Speed Rail | Jacobs
Sam El-Jouzi is a Major Programmes VP and the Global Principal for High Speed Rail at Jacobs, and is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. His portfolio spans complex, regulated infrastructure programs in the transportation, building and water sectors, and he brings 30 years of leadership experience, delivering complex programmes in the UK, Americas and the Middle East.
Sam has end to end experience, having seen the programmes through from their inception to completion. The combination of alliancing experience, owner-side delivery partner insights and cross-sector major-program leadership gives him a practical perspective on how organisations can develop and mature, and align risk, decisions and delivery outcomes across large capital programmes.