Mr. Gareth Llewellyn:

Tráthnóna maith, prynhawn daand good afternoon. I thank both the Chair and the members of the committee for the kind invitation to join them today. I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to engage with them on the important role TII plays in delivering sustainable transport infrastructure and services across Ireland.

I was both delighted and honoured to be offered the role of chair designate of TII by the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, on 23 November last. I was invited to attend the TII board meeting on that day and I extend my thanks and gratitude to my predecessor, Mr. Cormac O’Rourke, for his outstanding stewardship of the organisation.

I thought it may be helpful to start by outlining my background and experience, particularly as it relates to the role of the chair of TII. As members will have no doubt deduced from my surname, I am Welsh. I studied at Swansea University, following which I undertook research at Southampton University. I have leadership training through Harvard Business School, with more recent training in digital transformation from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School and corporate finance training from Columbia University in the United States.

I spent my early career in the public sector with the UK’s Environment Agency and its predecessor, the National Rivers Authority. In 2000, I joined the global energy business, National Grid plc, where, among other roles, I was group director responsible for safety, health and sustainability for operations across the US, Latin America, Australia, Africa and the UK. I undertook the same role for the global mining business, Anglo American plc, following which I became executive director for safety, technical and engineering for Network Rail, the owner of the rail infrastructure in Britain.