Thomas Ableman
Founder
Freewheeling

Thomas Ableman has spent over 20 years helping transport organisations move faster.

He was Director of Strategy & Innovation at Transport for London, where he shaped priorities for Europe's largest public transport authority. He founded the coach-tech startup Sn-ap, led it through five years of rapid growth and previously doubled revenue at Chiltern Railways as Commercial Director. Today, through his company Freewheeling, he helps ambitious teams deliver faster results, drawing on experience from rail, bus, micromobility and startups to solve complex problems with pace and clarity.

Julia Buckley MP
Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury

Julia Buckley is a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury, elected in 2024. She previously worked for five years as a policy adviser in the European Parliament and later as an EU funding specialist in local government, including at Wolverhampton City Council. Buckley served as a councillor on Shropshire Council from 2021 and became leader of the Shropshire Labour Group in 2022. Inspired by her friend Jo Cox, she stood for Parliament in 2024, becoming Shrewsbury's first woman MP and its first Labour representative. She sits on the Environmental Audit Select Committee and chairs the APPG on Local Markets.

Marie Daly
Chief Operating Officer
Transport for Wales

Marie has more than 17 years of experience in the rail industry and a strong track record in operational leadership, customer excellence and cultural transformation. Her career includes pivotal roles including, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chief Customer and Culture Officer at TfW and Service Delivery Director at Greater Manchester's Metrolink during times of transformational change for both organisations.

Since joining TfW Marie has led major initiatives, including the transition of the rail franchise in 2021, developing a new operating model and strengthening partnerships with trade unions. Her leadership has driven significant customer improvements, such as the introduction of the first customer proposition framework, the opening of two new transport interchanges and enhanced event management, boosting customer satisfaction.

As Chief Operating Officer, Marie is instrumental in driving TfW towards its vision to become a multimodal transport operator, focusing on delivering service excellence every day to enhance the customer experience.

Marie is also Chair of Women in Rail where she actively champions and amplifies the voices of women within the industry

Vernon Everitt CBE
Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester

With over 40 years' experience across the finance, transport and technology sectors, Vernon is the Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester. He advises the Mayor on developing an integrated public transport network for the region alongside more active travel facilities.

From 2007 to January 2022 Vernon was Managing Director for Customers, Communication and Technology at Transport for London. Vernon's focus was on putting customers at the heart of transport strategy and operations, including how integration of services and technology and data can deliver better journeys. He led the successful pan Government and transport industry marketing and communications strategy for the London 2012 Olympic Games, the largest ever integrated campaign of its kind.

Vernon has also worked at senior level at the Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England in a variety of banking, regulatory, corporate and communications roles. He is also a senior advisor to the consultancy Teneo, and chairs the National Grid ESO Technology Advisory Council. He joined TfW as a Non-Executive Director in September 2019.

Andy Lord
Transport Commissioner for London

As Commissioner of TfL, Andy is responsible for ensuring the delivery of safe and reliable transport services to keep London moving, growing and to make life in the Capital better for residents, visitors and businesses. He is responsible for delivering the priorities and objectives set out in the Mayor's Transport Strategy and TfL Business Plan.

Andy joined TfL in November 2019, as Managing Director London Underground having started his career with British Airways as a sponsored undergraduate in 1989, gaining an honours degree in mechanical engineering from Manchester University. His career saw him take on roles across
engineering, operations and customer service, culminating as Director of Operations and member of the Executive Leadership Team for just over seven years.

Prior to joining TfL, Andy was Executive Vice President at Menzies Aviation leading the business and operations for the UK, EMEAI.

Andy is also a NED at Defence Equipment and Support.

Catriona Meehan
Director of Public Affairs
Omio

Catriona Meehan is the Director of Public Affairs at Omio, a travel platform that simplifies and enhances passenger experiences across Europe. With over 15 years of experience in policy, communications, and reputation, she specializes in navigating complex political environments and shaping regulation. Meehan is also the founder of Startingup PA, a consultancy that advises startups and scale-ups on public affairs and strategic communications. Her work includes advising on public affairs at Omio, where she aligns business priorities with regulatory developments and manages stakeholder engagement across the EU and beyond.

Christoph Pasternak
Chief Executive
Eurofima

CEO of EUROFIMA since July 2023, Christoph Pasternak leads one of Europe's most distinctive financial institutions. Based in Switzerland, EUROFIMA is a supranational organisation backed by 25 European member states, dedicated exclusively to providing financing solutions for railway rolling stock on a non-profit basis. Drawing on his previous experience at a major European commercial bank, Christoph is passionate about expanding EUROFIMA's collaborative partnerships across Europe. One step, among others, is that from 2026 on EUROFIMA will also be financing trams, metros, and light rail vehicles. In addition, EUROFIMA is advanced discussions about the UK joining EUROFIMA.

Jason Prince
Director
Urban Transport Group

Prior to joining UTG in July 2023, Jason was Head of Public Affairs for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority for over three years and he also worked for Transport for Greater Manchester for four years. During both roles, Jason was actively involved in working with partners on buses, specifically the Bus Services Act (2017) and its impact on the future of transport in Greater Manchester, supporting the early development of Greater Manchester's Bee Network and rail projects including HS2, and on innovation and devolution.

Before joining TfGM in 2016, Jason worked for a Member of Parliament, supporting on key policy areas of transport and energy.

Prior to working in politics, Jason held a variety of positions in the private and third sector. He was a business development manager in the field of welfare to work for nearly five years. He was also an operations manager for a third sector organisation across the North of England.

Anthony Smith
Chair
Independent Rail Retailers

Anthony is currently chair of Independent Rail Retailers and the Heathrow Area Transport Forum. He is also a member of the Affinity Water Independent Consumer Challenge Group and Chair's the National Transport Awards judging panel.

Formerly Anthony was chief executive of Transport Focus and its predecessor bodies. He also worked at Consumers' Association and Consumers International. Having studied law, Anthony is also a qualified solicitor.

Edward Thomas
Partner, UK Head of Transport and Global Chair, Public Transport
KPMG LLP

Ed is KPMG's Head of Transport in the UK – he also chairs KPMG's Global Public Transport network. Throughout his career, Ed has specialised in the rail sector leading major mandates for both public and private sector clients. In the public sector, Ed has headed up KPMG's work on Rail Reform including supporting GBRTT on the design of the Operating Model for Great British Railways and advising DfT on the commercial structure of the Passenger Services Contracts that it were proposed to replace rail franchises. Other major engagements included advising on the strategic case for HS2, supporting the Shaw Review which examined the long term structure of Network Rail and advising clients in the US and Singapore on contracting models. For the private sector, Ed helped build KPMG's business supporting private sector operators bidding for major rail, light rail and bus contracts. He has advised most of the leading industry players on successful bids including Firstgroup, Stagecoach, Virgin, Abellio (now Transport UK) and Keolis.

Steve White
Managing Director
Southeastern

Steve White is a highly experienced rail executive with a career spanning metro, suburban and high-speed rail networks across the UK.

He is currently responsible for delivering the first in a new era of fully integrated railways under public ownership, serving as Managing Director of Southeastern. The organisation brings together Southeastern and Network Rail Kent within a single, integrated operating model.

Steve has previously led vertically integrated operations, asset management and engineering teams on London Underground's Sub-Surface Railway, overseeing complex, high-intensity urban rail services.

His project experience includes the successful delivery of new rolling stock, depots, high-speed infrastructure and CBTC signalling programmes.

He was formerly Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer of Govia Thameslink Railway, the UK's largest rail operator, providing services across the Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express routes.