When we get it right a spotlight on success

Andy Murray

Executive Director, Major Projects Association

Andy is the Executive Director of the Major Projects Association, prior to which he spent 30 years as a practitioner, consultant and assurer of complex projects and programmes for public, private and third sector organisations both domestically and internationally. He has a focus on project governance, the treatment of inherent project complexity and organisational development of project capability.

Andy is a respected author, having worked with HM Treasury, Cabinet Office, the Association for Project Management (APM) and Axelos to develop best practice guidance on their behalf. Publications include PRINCE2, P3M3, Routemap and the Governance of Co-Owned Projects. He was cited in the Sunday Telegraph’s business supplement as one of the most influential people in project management. He is the Chair of the APM’s Governance Special Interest Group, the Chair of the IPA’s independent project advisory group for the Project Initiation Routemap and is the engagement workstream lead for the Project Data Analytics Task Force.

Andy is a collaborative and inclusive senior leader with a track record of building high-performing teams both within his organisation, across partnerships and with voluntary groups.

Outside of work Andy spends his time mountain biking or helping out Willaston FC (a community football club) as treasurer and manager of the Under 14s team.

Al Simmonite

Managing Director, The Advance Consultancy Ltd

Al is the Managing Director of Advance Consultancy Ltd, a business focused on supporting organisation to deliver outcomes more effectively in complex environments. The focus for the business in recent years has been supporting the development of professional collaboration in project teams delivering complex projects in the infrastructure and transport sector.

Prior to joining Advance, Al has been a Project Management functional director and has been involved in complex project and programme management for 15 years including the delivery of complex projects, programmes and portfolios as both a client and a supplier, developing new collaborative ways of working across the client-supplier interface in the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Al’s background is as an Aerospace Engineer with 20 years as a Royal Air Force Engineer Officer, subsequently shifting into the aerospace industry, across into transportation and now into a multi-sector consultancy. Al’s interest in the topic of Sponsorship comes from many years’ experience of working in and around many different types of project sponsor and seeing a lack of consistent guidance and direction for the role. With Advance, Al has supported teams, projects and organisations to develop appropriate and effective leadership and collaborative environments. He sees effective Sponsorship and Leadership as key to the successful delivery of Major Projects.

Dr. Rebecca Weston

Director General, Ministry of Defence

Rebecca leads the Warhead Group within the Defence Nuclear Organisation in the Ministry of Defence. As a senior civil servant, she is responsible for delivering the critical warhead component of the UK’s nuclear deterrent. Closely integrated with the submarine programme, this complex and highly regulated portfolio ensures the continued supply of nuclear and non-nuclear materials, alongside advanced design, testing, and evaluation capabilities. Her work is essential in maintaining the UK’s sovereign nuclear capability while fostering strong international partnerships.

A key part of Rebecca’s role is overseeing major infrastructure programmes required to sustain the UK’s nuclear deterrent for decades to come. The Warhead Group collaborates with the Atomic Weapons Establishment, industry leaders, academic institutions, and government agencies to ensure the successful delivery of these projects.

Before joining the Ministry of Defence, Rebecca was Chief Operating Officer at Sellafield Limited, where she directed nuclear operations across one of the most complex nuclear sites in the world. She led several major nuclear programmes, including retrieval activities from the UK’s first-generation nuclear activities, nuclear materials management, reprocessing, decommissioning, and remediation. She also spearheaded the site’s COVID-19 operational response.

Rebecca is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and holds a Physics degree, an MBA from Oxford, and an engineering doctorate.

Antonio Nieto Rodriguez

Vice Chair, APM

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Dr. Paul Chapman OBE

Senior Fellow in Operations Management, Saïd Business School

Paul Chapman is a leading expert on the learning and development of executives, especially those responsible for leading the delivery of major programmes/major projects typically valued at more than $1 billion.

Paul is Academy Director for the UK Government’s “Major Project Leadership Academy” (MPLA), a one-year part time programme for the Major Project Leaders responsible for delivering the UK Central Government’s portfolio strategic projects valued at over £440bn. In this role he also designed and directs the “Sponsoring Major Projects” programme for UK Government Ministers.

At Oxford Paul also set up the MSc in Major Programme Management, a two-year, part-time programme that attracts senior programme leaders from around the world (50% are based outside the UK) who lead programme across a range of sectors.

These programmes involve working closely with client organisations and participants to understanding their potential for development and growth through to realising these opportunities. These roles also include engaging teams of faculty and experienced practitioners to create the design and content required to ensure an engaging learning experience. For example, in addition to the MPLA, Chapman’s work with the UK Government extends to include developing and delivering workshops for the Civil Service’s Permanent Secretaries and also for particular departments that bring together Ministerial teams and their Senior Civil Servants. This means that the insights and capabilities Major Project Leaders develop on the Academy receive better support and can be implemented more effectively in the workplace, which is leading to notable improvements in Major Project delivery.

Paul’s research takes concepts at the heart of operations management, especially engineering and production, and blends these with other insights. This includes developing an approach to reducing new product development lead times that enabled organisations to improve market sensitivity and return on capital. Another strand of research brings together operations management with criminology to address product loss through theft and errors. The outputs from this work have been adopted internationally, saving retailers in Europe and the Americas over $2 billion in recent years.

Before joining Saïd Business School, Paul was a Senior Research Fellow at Cranfield School of Management and previously was a member of the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick. Paul took his BEng, MSc and Engineering Doctorate at the University of Warwick.

Paul is also Vice President of the Association for Project Management (APM), the Chartered body for the project profession, and previously served six years as a Board Member and Chair of the Professional Standards and Knowledge Committee.

Lawrence Shackman

Director Major Projects, Transport Scotland

With over 39 years’ engineering experience, Lawrence is currently Transport Scotland’s Director of Major Projects, responsible for the roads programme, including the £multibillion A9 and A96 Dualling projects. He is also Director of Purchasing.

Lawrence has held serval roles within Transport Scotland including Head of Rail Projects and Technical Services, with his most notable role being Project Manager for the iconic £1.35bn Queensferry Crossing where he saw the project through from inception to completion over an 11 year period, and gained the Royal Academy of Engineering Major Projects Award in 2020 for his role.

In his early career, Lawrence was a Project Manager with Thorburn Colquhoun, now AECOM, working extensively on the £multi-million, 45 mile long A14 M1-A1 link road.

Lawrence is actively involved with the Institution of Civil Engineers, having been Chair of ICE Scotland (2017/18) and Glasgow & West of Scotland (2014/15). He is also Transport Scotland’s Supervising Civil Engineer responsible for ICE graduate training.

Dr. Mark Brown

Strategy Director, Amey plc

Mark is a Strategy Director of Amey’s Consulting business where he leads strategic planning and work winning. He is a senior executive with 30 years’ experience of operating at Board level in two major UK infrastructure and service businesses. Mark has extensive experience of infrastructure development, for both public and private sector clients, and has been closely involved in establishing Amey’s original involvement in the Core Valley Lines project in South Wales. He has also advised major asset owners on best practice in project development and delivery.

An economist by training, with academic teaching and research experience in his early career, Mark has extensive experience of leading planning and strategic projects and programmes across a range of infrastructure sectors, in the UK and overseas. He has also provided strategic analysis and advice for manufacturing and defence clients.

Mark was previously Group Development Director at Halcrow. He has worked on a wide variety of highway, rail and development projects in over 20 countries and is widely published in project economics, rail planning and asset management. Mark is also a Director of the Transport for Wales (TfW) Innovation Services joint venture involving TfW, Keolis and Amey.

Anne Marie Purcell

Chief Transformation Officer, Transport for Greater Manchester

Anne Marie Purcell is Transformational leader with over 15 years’ experience of delivering large complex transformational change across the public and private sector.

A member of Transport for Greater Manchester’s Chief Executive’s Leadership Team, Anne Marie has delivered the first phase of the Greater Manchester Bee Network an Integrated Transport System by being the first in the UK to successfully bring buses back under public control via Bus Franchising, since deregulation 40 years ago.

Dr. Rebecca Weston

Director General, Ministry of Defence

Rebecca leads the Warhead Group within the Defence Nuclear Organisation in the Ministry of Defence. As a senior civil servant, she is responsible for delivering the critical warhead component of the UK’s nuclear deterrent. Closely integrated with the submarine programme, this complex and highly regulated portfolio ensures the continued supply of nuclear and non-nuclear materials, alongside advanced design, testing, and evaluation capabilities. Her work is essential in maintaining the UK’s sovereign nuclear capability while fostering strong international partnerships.

A key part of Rebecca’s role is overseeing major infrastructure programmes required to sustain the UK’s nuclear deterrent for decades to come. The Warhead Group collaborates with the Atomic Weapons Establishment, industry leaders, academic institutions, and government agencies to ensure the successful delivery of these projects.

Before joining the Ministry of Defence, Rebecca was Chief Operating Officer at Sellafield Limited, where she directed nuclear operations across one of the most complex nuclear sites in the world. She led several major nuclear programmes, including retrieval activities from the UK’s first-generation nuclear activities, nuclear materials management, reprocessing, decommissioning, and remediation. She also spearheaded the site’s COVID-19 operational response.

Rebecca is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and holds a Physics degree, an MBA from Oxford, and an engineering doctorate.