Transport for the North (TfN), the region’s statutory transport body, which speaks on behalf of the North’s civic and business leaders on transport investment, has announced two new directors to lead the organisation going forward.

They are Strategy, Policy and Communications Director Katie Day and Finance Director Paul Kelly. Following agreement from the TfN Board, the new Finance Director will formally take up his role on 14 December; and the new Strategy Director should be in place by February 2023.

TfN say both will bring vast experience and depth of knowledge, helping it guide the organisation on delivering its current remit and its journey to a regional centre of excellence.

Paul Kelly who is the interim Finance Director at TfN, has over 25 years’ experience commercial, financial and operational services within public and private entities subject to transformational change. He came to us in 2018 from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), where he was Head of Financial and Commercial for Metrolink.

Katie Day has more than 20 years of working in public bodies and central government, including the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as Head of Operations for the Regional Growth Fund and, previously at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) leading Internal Communication and working on Strategic Policy. She joins TfN from the Office for Nuclear Regulation, where she is the Director of Policy and Communications.

Lord McLoughlin, Chair of Transport for the North, said, “These are crucial leadership roles for the North of England, and I am more than confident that they will rise to the challenge. All of them have extensive professional experience coupled with the drive to move TfN forward at a challenging time for our region and the transport sector.”

The new appointees responded to the decision with Katie Day saying, “I am looking forward to leading our work on the refresh of the Strategic Transport Plan and the Northern Independent Economic Review. It’s vital more than ever that we build a fresh evidence base to make the case for greater investment in the North,” and Paul Kelly adding, “It is an honour to be appointed to this position and to have the opportunity to support Transport for the North as it transitions to a new structure and further embeds its role for the North.”

(Picture – TfN)