Spencer Group has today announced the appointment of one of Britain’s most experienced rail industry figures, David McLoughlin, as Chief Executive of its rail business, Spencer Rail.
David, 51, is currently the Finance and Commercial Director for the Infrastructure Projects division within Network Rail. He has held this position for three years with a remit to develop and implement new and innovative commercial arrangements for their national and major capital projects.
David has over 30 years’ experience in the rail industry, primarily in finance and latterly in procurement, commercial and operational activities. He is a CIMA qualified accountant, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Surveyors, an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply and a member of the founding board of the Institute of Collaborate Working.
David will report to the Spencer Group Board.
Spencer Rail will be forming a new rail infrastructure business and this will be led by Managing Director, Raj Sinha, who has successfully spearheaded the growth and delivery of £200m of rail works in the last two years. A new MD for projects, which will be a separate business, will be appointed in due course.
Spencer Group CEO, Charlie Spencer said: “David McLoughlin has a vital role to play in setting the strategic direction of the business and the delivery of our key outputs. We need a strong talent base from the rail industry and beyond to help us meet that challenge and David will play a pivotal role in this.
“He brings with him decades of invaluable experience, providing first-hand expertise of the wide range of issues facing Network Rail, other infrastructure managers and train operators as the industry works together to deliver a better railway for passengers and freight operators.
“We are delighted that he has agreed to join us as we drive our business forward.”
David said: “I’m really pleased to be joining such a well-respected organisation as Spencer Rail at this exciting and challenging time for our industry.
“We need to set our sights high and aim to exceed customer expectations. Recent successes such as completing the 15-day blockade at Gravesend and building the state-of-the-art signalling centre at Three Bridges prove we are more than capable of doing this and make us well placed to benefit from the huge opportunity for growth the rail industry has to offer.
“However, we must match this through continued innovation and the introduction of new technology as pressure increases to drive down costs and become ever more efficient.
“My strategy for the company is a simple one – to meet our goals by working closely with our customers and unlocking the potential of our workforce and by investing in our people to attract the best talent. I aim to build a company that allows everyone to reach and use their full potential. I have been hugely impressed by the culture and values I’ve seen across Spencer Group.
“I will be placing a huge emphasis on the need to improve safety in our industry. Whilst the UK has one of Europe’s safest railways, we can and must do more to make the railway safer still, especially for our workforce. At the end of every shift we need to ensure that everyone gets home safe, every day. We must not stop until we reach that goal and this requires a continued focus on further improving the safety culture at all levels of our business.”
David will be based at Spencer Group’s HQ in Hull overseeing the rail business’ +300 staff in Scotland, Hull and London. With site offices all over the UK, Spencer Rail is currently managing and delivering some of the UK’s most complex and challenging infrastructure, track, signalling, telecoms and OHLE railway projects.
In his spare time, David likes to keep active and is a regular member at the gym, not to mention sailing across the Atlantic and climbing mountains for charity.
He will join the Spencer Rail in the summer, formally taking on his new role in July 2014.
