Elizabeth Gilliard is an experienced Interim Manager working within the transport industry. This this interview she discusses her career and the major issues within the industry.

1. 1.Give us a briefoverviewofyour experience in
transporttoday.
Transport is an industryfullofopportunity. I started as a
teenage booking clerkonthe LondonUnderground -the
person who sellsyouyourticket. I moved upthroughtube
and bus,then joined consultantsSteer DaviesGleave at 23,
taking professional exams and an MSc alongthe way.
Ithen had 5years atthe DfT,first intraffic, where I learnt
to apply engineeringdiscipline in highways management
and safety,then movingonto create a place-focused local
transportfund insteadofone potof moneyfor roads and
onefor publictransport.
Having started soyoung and been given such great
opportunities, I becamethefirst woman andtheyoungest
ever Directorof a PTE (I wonder has anyoneyounger been
appointed since? I was 31.There can’t be another ‘first’!).
That gave metwo immensely rewardingyears intheWest
Midlands. It was a real challengeto be responsiblefor all
the passengeroperations and information, infrastructure
investment, bids andthe engineering programme.
Illnessforced meto give up work in 1998, after which I went
freelance because I was waryof my health.As itturned
out, I’d come back more energeticthan ever and had a
terrifictime working in rail, bus,transport economics and
modelling.Whilst also learning anddevelopingtechniques in
social research, stakeholder and civicdecision making.
I’ve worked across Europe in placemaking in which, urban
and suburbandesign is a significantdeterminantofthe
demandfortransport, and social research helpsto explain
the ways in whichdesign can influence behaviour.
I hadtwoyears back atthe LondonUnderground after
my partner’sdeath, and have been an interim since 2012.
Thoughthevaried natureof my career probably means I’ve
been an interimfairlyoften - six months here,twoyears
there,three monthsonthis project. I am proofthattransport
is a worldofopportunity.
Starting with scant education, suffering a career-
threatening illness and the death of my partner along the
way. Despite this I’ve still been able to have a whale of a
time and see my work make a difference. I’ve also done a
lot of charity work; teaching and writing for theTransport
TutorialAssociation and CILT, and serving for over a decade
on the IndependentTransport Commission.
2.As a very experienced transport executive
what would you say are the key challenges over
the coming months?
The challenges in transport are strongly influenced by the
economic cycle.This is an interesting time, the recovery
is visibly leading to more congestion, and we will need to
tackle that in order to avoid high costs to industry and
society.
With an election looming, there is money around - £6bn
for a new integrated fund for infrastructure and growth,
a roads maintenance fund and rail innovation funds.
However there is still an urgency to see results from those
funds.That should be good news for interims.
In the medium term, the rapid developments in
communication technology should bring big changes in the
way transport is planned, designed and managed. There’s
a health warning here, we’ve been saying this about ICT
since the 1990s.Again, I feel there is a role here for interims
to shape and drive through some change projects.
The boom in mega-projects also creates demand, with
HS2, Crossrail and Crossrail 2 under way, and further
airport projects on the horizon.
I hope, though, that we will still be used on the smaller
scale projects, both physical and human. Interims are
a bonus during organisational change, bringing a fresh
perspective, and there is a lot of change underway in
transport.
Interview with Elizabeth Gilliard,
Interim Transport Manager

2. 3. In particular given you have so much
experience in rail what would you say the new
challenges are for rail franchising?
I can’t really paint myself as the big rail expert. I’ve been
doing rail projects for 30 years, but amidst a very varied
career. I’m more involved in generalist transport and policy
work.
The challenges for rail franchising are largely inherent,
managing the massive costs to bidders and to the DfT,
avoiding short-termism, creating financial systems
for value transfer whenTOCs change, to encourage
investment, and, especially in the light of the tech change
mentioned above, encouraging knowledge sharing and
co-operation in the industry when innovation wins points
in bids.
I can see roles for interims in helping the DfT tackle
some of these structural issues, as well as the usual team
leadership roles within new bids.
5.Also what skills might be lacking in this space
and what alternative markets would you seek
them in if you found yourself hiring?
I would like to see a lot more behavioural understanding in
transport planning and management. I think this is largely
a matter of giving the professionals in the post the skills
and confidence to listen to communities and be influenced
by the way people want to live and travel.
That could be an opportunity for interims with psychology
and social research backgrounds but also from marketing
and sales backgrounds.The other area that transport is
looking towards is tech and media, kids who design games
can probably switch to designing traffic solutions and
communications.
6.Would you recommend others to consider
interim roles?
I thoroughly enjoy being an interim. It requires high energy
and adaptability, and they’re probably my strengths.
I am by nature the person who will start, create or fix
something and then move on, rather than the foundation
stone who will see a business through all its years and
evolutions.That applies to consultancy, too, but as an
interim I also have longer relationships, teams to build and
staff to help grow. Which is a very rewarding part of the
work.
I have made some great friends in my interim roles, which
is reaping benefits as it’s my birthday this week and I have
a far wider range of people buying me drinks than the
average office worker!And I would certainly recommend
others to work throughVeredus.
4.Transport is a growing market with big
demands for candidates.What advice would
you give new candidates hoping to operate
effectively in the transport world?
Trust the people you’re working with. By and large, you’ll
be leading a highly skilled team with decades of experience
- whether you’re in a commercial business or in local or
central government.
Respect this and find ways to make best use of it.Trust
their judgement and support them in making and
implementing decisions, rather than swanning in trying
to look clever and important!They’ll have to make and
implement the decisions once you’ve moved on, so backing
them while you’re in the post will help build capacity in
the organisation as well as ensuring that you will deliver a
great deal more.
This principle is always true for interims, but especially
so in transport. If you try to outsmart a modelling team
on the maths, or a traffic engineering team on network
planning, you’ll have earned the healthy coating of egg-
on-face that you’ll end up with. If instead, you find ways to
help them effect change, you will have a real impact and
they will want you back and recommend you to others. www.veredus.co.uk