Press Release

RIA North announces new Vice Chair and additions to Leadership Group

7 July 2022

The Railway Industry Association (RIA) North, which represents over 150 rail businesses based across the North of England, has announced David Maddison as its new Vice-Chair and several appointments to its Leadership Group.

David, who undertakes the role of Regional Director (North) within Alstom’s Digital, Infrastructure and Systems (D&IS) business unit, will work with RIA North Chair Justin Moss to set the strategic direction of the group, as we represent RIA North members to policymakers and industry leaders. David is a Chartered Project Professional and a Fellow of the Association of Project Management, with over 20 years’ experience of delivering complex multi-disciplinary projects within the rail environment.
 
RIA North’s Leadership Group also welcomed several new faces, including: 

Jason Marbeck, Commercial Director at AmcoGiffen
Emma Pattinson, REAL Alliance Design Delivery Manager at Jacobs
David Westcough, Senior Consultant at Atkins
Richard Sykes – CEO at Rowe Hankins
Dan Lee-Bursnall – CEO at Incremental Solutions
Stirling Kimkeran – Director at Classone Systems

David Maddison, RIA North Vice-Chair, commented: “It is a pleasure to join the RIA North Leadership Group and I am proud to be appointed Vice Chair. It is an exciting time for rail in the North, with significant investment through the Integrated Rail Plan and plans for intra-city transport across the various combined authorities. However, there are also some real challenges for the rail industry, whether that is uncertainty of promised investment, delivering the full benefits of HS2 or continued efforts to decarbonise and drive innovation on the railways. I look forward to working with colleagues and partners to be the voice of the rail supply community in the North.” 
 
David Clarke, RIA North Lead and Technical Director at the Railway Industry Association, added: “We are very pleased to welcome David as our new Vice-Chair and Jason, Emma, David, Richard, Dan and Stirling as leadership group members of RIA North, congratulations to all. David brings years of expertise in the industry, and will help us make the case for members right around the North East and North West. The group has lots of exciting plans for the months and years ahead, so stay tuned for more from RIA North!”
 
RIA North runs a range of activities throughout the year, with upcoming events including an Annual Conference on 6 October 2022 and an event to mark the one-year anniversary of the Integrated Rail Plan on 19 November 2022. It will also continue to lead projects through its working groups on Innovation, Digital, Skills, Decarbonisation and Value for Money
Notes to Editors

 

  1. RIA North is the regional group for the Railway Industry Association (RIA) in the North of England. It was formed out of the Northern Rail Industry Leaders (NRIL), established in 2018.
  2. About RIA North: RIA North is the voice of the rail supply community in the North of England, representing RIA members across the region. Rail in the North supports £7.7bn in economic growth (GVA), 154,000 jobs and £2.5bn in tax revenue and is an essential industry in delivering the Government's build back better, decarbonisation and levelling-up agendas. www.riagb.org.uk/north
  3. About RIA: The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the voice of the UK rail supply community. We help to grow a sustainable, high-performing, railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products. RIA has 300+ companies in membership in a sector that contributes £36 billion in economic growth and £11 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 600,000 people—more than the workforce of Birmingham. It is also a vital industry for the UK’s economic recovery, supporting green investment and jobs in towns and communities across the UK. RIA’s membership is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60% by number). RIA works to promote the importance of the rail system to UK plc, to help export UK expertise around the globe and to share best practice and innovation across the industry. www.riagb.org.uk