Rob Needham

Rob is an Engineering & Major Projects Director with over 35 years’ experience in the rail industry across the UK, Europe & Australia.

Rob brings wide-ranging and deep technical expertise combined with strong commercial & financial acumen plus an excellent understanding of railway operations/customer experience and how this interfaces to strategic decisions about rolling stock, rail systems and depots. He also has a comprehensive understanding of engineering, commercial, procurement, finance, legal, regulatory & safety assurance matters within train operators & OEMs.

As former Group Engineering Director for MTR Europe (turnover ~£1Bn/yr) Rob had responsibility at corporate board level for engineering governance, rolling stock strategy & procurement, franchise bids & stakeholder management with industry.

Leadership
Rob has operated at the highest level within companies & transport authorities, and has an excellent understanding of board level decision making and the importance of stakeholder alignment. His most recent role was as Group Engineering Director of MTR’s European subsidiary where he participated in several operating company boards and major project boards as well as being a standing member of the franchise bidding exec committee. He was also involved in strategy and business development for MTR’s European business. He also held senior roles at Sydney Trains as Deputy Project Director for the PPP financed  Waratah trains project, JV Commercial Director at Sydney Light Rail, and as a Senior Commercial Manager at Siemens.

Experience
Rob has extensive experience & wide ranging expertise across rolling stock & depots, franchise bids & mobilisation, large-scale fleet introductions, rail operations & interface with rolling stock, depots & stabling strategy - arising from past employment with train operators, public transport authorities and manufacturers, in several countries including UK, France, Sweden, Australia Recent engagements include rolling stock & depot procurement for a French open access operator, rolling stock cascade strategy for a leading UK train operator, due diligence, pathway for hydrogen trains.

Rob commenced his career as a sponsored engineering student with British Rail DM&EE in 1997, followed by roles in front line rolling stock maintenance at InterCity Anglia. After achieving an MBA from Manchester Business School, Rob joined Alstom’s PPP major projects business in 1998 where he led bids for rolling stock & rail systems, including several major PPP projects such as HSL-Zuid and Manchester Metrolink Ph3 expansion. He gained experience in light rail systems, PPP projects, major project management methodology and steering large bids through corporate approval processes.

In 2003, Rob joined Siemens Transportation in a wide ranging UK based role which included business development, contract negotiation and leading the delivery of new depots in Northampton & Manchester. Rob progressed to Senior Commercial Mgr with responsibility for service pricing, regulatory compliance and the negotiation of complex VOs. After a short spell of independent contracting Rob joined Sydney Trains in 2008 as Deputy Project Director on the PPP financed Waratah trains project – a major programme involving 78 new 8 car EMUs, new depot plus many other change impacts. Rob had responsibility for new trains introduction and client side maintenance readiness. Between 2011-2015 Rob worked on the Sydney Metro & Light Rail projects as an independent contractor before returning to the UK in 2016 to join MTR Europe.