Digital Transformation in Logistics Speakers

Nigel Rouch, Senior Vice President Technology - Europe, XPO Logistics

Nigel Rouch is Senior Vice President Technology – Europe. He has over 18 years of experience in Logistics and Supply Chain in many roles. Nigel also has extensive experience in other industries, including FMCG, automotive, and manufacturing. While starting his career in Finance, he has subsequently worked across several different disciplines, including IT and Shared Service Centres, for some years as a Business Consultant. Six Sigma Trained and passionate about process excellence, he strives to integrate technology and process to drive improvement and enhance the customer experience. Married with an 20-year-old son, he can be found on the golf course in his spare time, trying desperately to improve his golf handicap!

Chris Lane, Head of Transport Innovation, Transport for West Midlands

Chris Lane is Strategic Head of Transport Innovation at Transport for West Midlands. In this role he delivers change through people, processes and technology across a portfolio of programmes, including Mobility as a Service, Connected and Autonomous Mobility programmes and developing new ways of travel through the West Midlands Future Transport Zone as well as enabling the take up of Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles. Working in transport for most of his life, he has had the opportunity to deliver significant changes to transport.

Rosalind Moss, Head of Border Innovation and Strategy, HMRC

Rosalind Moss is joint Head of the Border Innovation Strategy Team in HMRC. The team is responsible for analysing how technology could be used to transform border processes. This includes assessing and prioritising the opportunities for deploying AI, as well as considering how digital supply chain data and augmenting technology could be used to reduce trade administrative burdens and better protect the UK.
Rosalind is an experienced policy and tax professional who has undertaken a wide variety of roles in HMRC, HM Treasury, the European Commission and PwC.

Martin Kendall, Managing Director, Vantec Europe Limited

Martin Kendall is Managing Director of Vantec Europe Limited (VEU), headquartered in Washington, Sunderland. Martin is responsible for Vantec's operations across the UK at Nissan Motor Manufacturing (NMUK), Komatsu UK, Thorn Lighting, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars (R-RMC), AESC UK, GE Vernova and Bentley Motors Limited, as well as being the Global Safety and Genba Kanri (GK) Leader for Vantec Overseas Operations.

Martin started his career at Nissan when the plant opened in 1986, working in Material Handling before progressing to Material Handling Engineer. He joined Vantec in 2002 and became Managing Director in 2011, during which he has overseen the design and construction of two purpose-built logistics centres in Sunderland, a Forklift Centre of Excellence (FCE), Learning Centre of Excellence (LCE), the Innovation Centre and Vantec Interactive Experience (VIE), Digital Transformation (DX) and the launch of business with Rolls Royce Motor Cars (R-RMC), Bentley Motors, GE Vernova and AESC; as well as launching Vantec business in Mississippi, Chennai and Russia (now ceased).

Martin has overseen the organisation's growth through diversification into new industries and commercial opportunities, including the V-CAL project (Connected and Autonomous Logistics), by actively seeking new opportunities, ensuring the growth of the organisation's customer base and job creation.

John Court, Founder & Director, John Court Associates

In a career spanning four decades, John has held board and technology leadership roles with several FTSE 250 plc's and private equity held entities, including Eddie Stobart, CEVA Logistics, TNT Express (now FedEx) and Masternaut (now Michelin Connected Fleet).

In this time John has worked alongside many leading brands, such as Apple, Rolls Royce, Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, Volkswagen Audi Group, Coca-Cola, Tesco and Johnson & Johnson, designing and delivering innovative, differentiating digital solutions to underpin a range of logistics services, including advanced warehousing, e-commerce & fulfilment, international air and sea freight, road freight (FTL & LTL), rail freight, and express mail and parcel services.

Twice named a UK Top 100 CIO, John has received independent industry recognition for technology innovation, service quality and operational excellence. 

John now works independently with a small number of clients as an executive advisor and board consultant. His areas of particular interest include formulation of technology strategy, complex digital transformation, acquisition due diligence & post-acquisition integration, scale-up of high-growth tech businesses, business & technology alignment, technology sourcing strategy and digital operating models. 

John lives with his family in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands and is a keen rugby union fan and club golfer.

Jo Field, President - Women in Transport and Founder & CEO - JFG Communications

Jo is the President of Women in Transport, a not-for-profit organisation that empowers women in the transport industry to maximise their potential. Jo is especially passionate about addressing women’s under-representation in the transport sector and has been a Board member of Women in Transport since 2015, where she led the industry body’s engagement with parliamentarians to set up the first ever All-Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Transport in 2016. As President, Jo has overseen Women in Transport growing from a small, London-based group to a UK-wide organisation with over 1600 members, more than 100 volunteers, and an industry-wide network of corporate partners.

Aside from her voluntary work with Women in Transport, Jo is the Founder and Chief Executive of JFG Communications, a public affairs and stakeholder engagement consultancy that is helping the transport and infrastructure industries to decarbonise and diversify their workforce. Named among the 100 most influential women in Westminster and the top ten most inspirational women in public affairs, Jo has over 20 years of experience in helping transport companies engage their stakeholders, build advocacy for their plans, and inform and influence public policy.

Before founding JFG Communications, Jo spent almost a decade at Transport for London where she built and led the company’s award-winning stakeholder engagement team, building stakeholder support and advocacy for London’s transport infrastructure and the funding to deliver it.

Sasha Henry, Senior Managing Consultant, CyXcel

Over the past 6 years, Sasha has worked as a cybersecurity consultant as well as a project manager for a diverse set of globally recognised professional services firms within insurance, information technology, internal audit and legal. Supporting clients across industry verticals such as transport and logistics, critical national infrastructure, financial services, health care as well as manufacturing, she has a wide range of experience in risk management, operational resilience, cyber strategy, incident preparedness and proactive security services. More recently, she has progressed into a business development and innovation role, working with executive leaders to build bespoke solutions to support clients through digital change.

During her education, she led an engagement with the Atlantic Council and members of NATO, supporting a programme called the Cyber Statecraft Initiative through the development of a wargaming exercise for government stakeholders and leaders in critical national infrastructure. Following her master’s degree in Global Security, Transnational Organised Crime and Post-Soviet Studies, she supported and led complex advisory engagements such as cyber risk financial modelling exercises, IT as well as OT control assessments, operational resilience planning, supply chain due diligence and transformation programmes.

Tim Lawrence, Director of Digital Supply Chain, Digital Catapult

Tim is Director of Digital Supply Chain at Digital Catapult leading a £30m programme to build a Digital Supply Chain Hub to accelerating digital innovation in Supply Chains.

Tim has extensive experience in improving global supply chains working within the Automotive, Consumer Goods, Aerospace, Defence, Construction, Life Science and Industrial Sectors. His experience includes 25 years in consultancy, leading companies to deliver transformation in supply chains from strategy to performance improvement and digital.

An inspirational thought leader, Tim develops leading insights into global supply chain management and digital and speaks on these topics at conference platforms across Europe.

Steve Freeman, Chairman and Co-owner, RailX

An experienced Director with 50 years in the global railway industry. Steve has a strong background in Railway Operations, Business and Operational start-up, Business development, leadership and Project Delivery.

A strategic thinker and influencer with strong interpersonal skills, Steve has a proven record of success and achievement in the global rail arena and has operated at all levels, in both public and private sectors. Running rail infrastructure projects in South Africa, Portugal, and UAE, Steve has gained and numerous other countries, Steve has acquired a significant amount of experience which is relatable to the UK.

Experienced in developing and delivering the Organisational structures, Operational systems, sub-systems, rules, and regulations required through design, construction, testing, and commissioning phases and on through to full operation of the rail network and service delivery. Specification & procurement of Rolling Stock and Yellow plant. Contract negotiation and Management.

Steve is experienced in successfully delivering numerous Railway projects ranging from small or medium sized Feasibility Studies, through to the delivery of major railway infrastructure projects here in the Uk and around the world.

He also has significant experience in the provision of specialist Operations and Safety advise to clients in both the public and private sectors and continues today to consult to the industry.

More recently, his company Modus Operations Ltd has been responsible over the past 8 years, for the design and operation of the iPort Rail Inter-modal terminal in Doncaster, turning it into the most successful, award winning inland rail terminal in the UK.

As Chairman and Co-Owner of RailX (Eco2holdings Group of Companies) we have developed a digital solution for a terminal management system and a train booking App, (RailX) which is successfully booking spare capacity on UK container services, providing unparalleled access to inter-modal rail across the UK. One objective being to support the UK rail industry in achieving its modal shift targets.

Using iPort Rail as a ‘test bed’ the digital platform was rolled out digitally in April 2023, and is now growing to include more destinations and services across the UK.

Francesca Cesare Pintorno, Knowledge Transfer Manager - Digital Transport, Innovate UK

Francesca has 10 years of experience managing innovation programmes which have supported over 1,000 businesses in their growth across industries including transport and logistics, designing accelerator programmes and bridging connections with investors. She has been working both in the private and public sector spanning organisations such as Lancaster University, The British Library, YouTube and the Royal Academy of Engineering. She plays a pivotal role at Innovate UK Business Connect transport team supporting entrepreneurs, corporates, local authorities and academics enhancing their solutions and services through the application of digital technology and AI. Hence, facilitating key connections beyond stakeholders’ existing thinking.

Neil Travis, Regional Director of Operations, Amazon

Neil joined Amazon operations in 2016 at a traditional sortable site, BHX1 in Rugeley before moving to lead MAN1 the first purpose built Amazon Robotics site in Manchester in 2017. He was promoted to Regional Director in 2020 and currently leads 9 Fulfilment centres mainly located in the North West, Midlands, Yorkshire and Dublin. Neil is leading Amazon’s flagship Amazon Innovation Accelerator programme which is operating in 7 regions across the UK. Prior to Amazon Neil spent 15 years in senior Operations leadership roles most recently at a Fortune 500 labels and packaging business. Operating in 70 countries Neil was Operations Director for EMEA & South Asia and latterly a Global Vice President. Neil lives in the North West with his Wife and has a daughter at University.