John is an  experienced project leader who has worked in leadership roles as a civil servant on a number of government’s major complex projects. He has led Cabinet Office reviews on a number of other major projects over the years and continues to do so since leaving the public sector.

 John’s experience in project leadership extends from infrastructure to change projects requiring the introduction of new IT systems, new processes, and new law. He led the central Government side in the development of the funding and regulatory model for the Thames Tideway Tunnel and its sale to Thames Tideway, and worked in DfT as a senior leader on the governance and control of HS2. He followed this work on major infrastructure projects by leading the project for changing the way plants, animals and food crossed our borders with the EU following Brexit.

 He attended one of Government’s early Major Project Leadership Academy courses at the Said Business School at Oxford, and believes strongly that the key to a successful project is the people who work in it.  However a large and complex project, without the right governance, structures and processes that support the people, is unlikely to succeed. Senior project leadership is all about getting all these aspects working in harmony, usually in an environment that is difficult and not set up to deliver what a project needs. John gets pleasure from supporting project leaders to deliver successful projects.

 In addition to his project leadership skills, John has a broad knowledge and understanding of rural and agricultural matters having started off his career as a veterinary surgeon, and having spent four years in the Cabinet Office before Brexit working on various aspects of EU policy including the Common Agricultural Policy.  He is based in Dorset.