Stephen is the Chair of UKTram, a not-for-profit membership body, representing all light rail and ‘other guided transport’ systems in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. A highly experienced transport executive, he has a successful background in strategic development, business planning and operations management - most recently as Executive Director and Director General of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), where he was responsible for the delivery of public transport services across South Yorkshire.
Since joining the SYPTE in 2015, Stephen has led the promotion of the organisation across a diverse stakeholder group, acting as an ambassador and effectively representing it at a local, regional, and national level with government departments, the Transport Commissioner, commercial transport operators, and other formal bodies and organisations.
Stephen is a former director and Chair of the Urban Transport Group, and has previously worked in a range of senior management roles in both local government and the private sector.
A graduate of the University of Kent at Canterbury, where he earned a BSc in Electronic Engineering, Stephen holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management and a Masters in Business Administration at City University Business School and Manchester Business School, respectively.
Bonnie is the CEO of Young Rail Professionals (YRP). She has been on the board since 2020 and has been elected to her second term at the helm. She is the first woman to hold this position through two elections and the second person in YRP's history to do so. Her day job is as a management consultant within the rail industry.
Engineering Director at HS1 Ltd, with over 20 years’ experience in developing asset management capabilities for both UK main-line and high-speed railways. Responsible for providing client leadership to HS1’s supply chain, fulfilling the Asset Stewardship objectives in the concession agreement and ensuring that HS1 Ltd continues to protect, enhance and grow the asset.
I have previously worked as Infrastructure Maintenance Delivery Manager leading a multi-disciplined team on a busy part of the network, as well as Head of Signalling Control and Communications Engineering, Route Asset Manager (Signals) and Route Asset Systems and Integration Manager at Network Rail - leading the development of a combined asset management plan for Anglia route.
I am married with two children and enjoy music and cycling!
Tonie has provided Health and Safety, Assurance and Quality Management consultancy advice across a variety of industries, including high-risk sectors such as rail and construction. Her assignments and roles over the last 30+ years have included safety change initiatives, large scale safety improvement programmes, and generating compliant policies, procedures and assurance frameworks.
Tonie has working expertise in supporting clients, programmes and projects in both advisory and implementation scenarios.
Tonie’s early days began within the construction industry, as a Construction Materials Technician, whilst studying Civil Engineering.
Her introduction to the rail industry came in the late 90s when she joined West Coast Modernisation Programme, as a Quality Manager. She transitioned into safety in the early 2000s and completed her NEBOSH Diploma in 2007 and became a Chartered Member of IOSH in 2018.
Tonie has worked for a range of organisations in her 30 +year career including London Underground, Transport for London, Rail for London, Network Rail, Metrolinx, Alstom, West Midland Trains, Achilles (RISQS, UVDB and BuildingConfidence schemes), Metro Consulting, Mace and TUSP.
For me, the highlight was my time with the Network Rail Safety Task Force where I was able to couple my safety experiences with my qualifications in Change Management The Safety Task Force made me determined to be the best safety professional (and human being), I can be, as well as a supporter of others, an ally, a coach and someone who wants everyone to be able to go home safely to their loved ones at the end of a working day….in fact at the end of any day!
My time with the Safety Task Force, has also rekindled my desire to help others, including those in the safety or rail industries. For this reason, I have taken an active role on the IOSH Railway group.
A new member to the IOSH Railway Group committee, as well as a member of the Chartered Quality Institute- Railway Special Interest group.Currently, mentoring individuals in the railway safety and quality spheres including young Australian graduates new to the UK rail industry.
Natasha is part of the Exec Team at the independent watchdog Transport Focus as a Director leading on Rail. She has been a part of the Rail Industry for over 22 years most of that time with Virgin Trains.
Natasha started her career on the Frontline and held several roles covering a breadth of areas from customer experience, customer strategy, brand, people & culture that led to her being a part of the Exec Team at Virgin Trains and Avanti West Coast. She is passionate about customer experience within the transport sector and has worked in both Aviation and Rail during her career.
RailStaff Editor, Matt Atkins, has worked in journalism and publishing for over 15 years. In that time, he’s worked for numerous trade publications focusing on sectors as diverse as high finance, recruitment, maritime shipping, and now rail.
Matt joined Rail Media from the academic publisher, Taylor & Francis, where he edited leading journals covering the humanities, science and technology, and medicine.
Glynis Appelbe joined the G&W UK/Europe region in March 2016 as HR Director – UK/Europe Region.
Prior to G&W UK/Europe she was the Head of HR for a FTSE listed global diversified mining company, Eurasian Natural Resources (‘ENRC’) PLC, spanning Europe, South America, Africa and Kazakhstan. Prior to RNRC she spent 16 years working in financial services related environments in subsidiaries of Barclays, ABN Amro and Hitachi Capital.
Ms Appelbe earned a business degree from University of Limerick, Ireland and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.
John's personal journey with TBF, which began in 1998, is a testament to the transformative power of our charity. His deep passion for the charity sector is fuelled by the knowledge that TBF's support can make a significant difference in the lives of public transport workers and their dependants during times of need, hardship and distress.
John started his career path as a guard at LUL and later transitioned to a train operator role. However, his career in operations was abruptly halted by Type 1 Diabetes. This personal experience of adversity led John to a new path in administration, where he found a new purpose in supporting others.
With an impressive 60,000 contributing members, TBF's impact is far-reaching. It's not just the members who benefit, but also their partners and dependent children, showcasing the diverse range of people who can find support in our fund. In the current financial year, TBF is projected to allocate £3 million on direct benefits to its beneficiaries. This substantial investment in the well-being of its members is made possible by the modest membership fee of just £1.25 a week, gift aid, donations and investments.
John says he is incredibly proud to be part of TBF as it is not every day that you can be part of an organisation that makes such a difference to people when they need a helping hand, and each year that passes, more and more help is required. He would like all employing companies within the public transport sector to appreciate the difference TBF membership can make to their employees' work-life balance, which helps reduce employee turnover. Some employers have agreed to “Employer Paid” and pay their staffs' £1.25 weekly contribution, as they see this as a benefit they can afford, and demonstrate they care about their employees' wellbeing.
Kevin Bonanno Director of Rail at Telent Technology Services Ltd Kevin Bonanno heads up the Rail business unit at Telent, having joined the company as Business Development Director in January 2017. He oversees a team that provides integrated telecommunications solutions across much of the UK’s rail infrastructure, including for Network Rail, HS1, Crossrail and Train Operating Companies, TfGM, Transport Scotland and Mersey Travel.
Along with his leadership team, Kevin leads the end-to-end Rail business from bidding through to delivery, delivering excellence and value for Telent’s customers and the rail industry. He is a firm believer in empowering managers to make decisions and look for the best way to deliver their projects and services, even if that includes adopting new technologies and new ways of working.
Before joining Telent, Kevin worked in Business Development in the digital communications sector, spending time at GlobalReach Technology and Sky as well as roles in the rail supply chain.
Mark co-founded GeoAccess in 2014. With a career spanning ground and site investigation, across the Highways, Railway, and Utilities sectors, Mark’s vision was to create a company which would provide solutions where clients were presented with challenging access issues, using not only rope access, but new innovative and technical solutions such as UAV and submersible drones.
Mark Eastwood currently leads the Commercial team and associated functions at Heathrow Express, a role he has held since joining the company in 2019. His leadership focuses on driving revenue growth, enhancing customer experience, and fostering strategic partnerships.
Before his tenure at Heathrow Express, Mark spent over a decade in the aviation industry. During this period, he undertook both commercial and operational management roles, gaining extensive experience across the UK, Europe, and the Middle East.
Mark’s educational background includes studying consumer marketing and business management at both Manchester and Oxford Universities, providing him with a strong foundation in strategic business practices and customer-focused marketing.
Dedicating his 35-year career to the Rail Industry he has a wealth of knowledge in Customer Service, Learning and Development and Operational Management.
For the past 5 years leading a team that delivers apprenticeships to a range of Train Operators, Freight Operators, and other service providers within the Rail Industry. Working with over 80% of the Operators in England he is responsible for the teams that are delivering award winning apprenticeships in Train Driving, Customer Services, Management, Learning & Development, and support staff for nearly 900 Apprentices.
Previous roles have included Train Driver, Trainer, Operations Manager and Training Manager with responsibilities including competence management, training of railway personnel and the management and investigation of rail operational incidents.
With a career spanning over two decades in rail, Steve is an industry leader that champions outstanding passenger experiences, staff welfare and safety across the network. Driven by a passion for rail's potential, Steve believes integrated transport holds the key to significantly reducing the environmental impact of travel.
Tyler is the Managing Director of Land Sheriffs, with 20 years’ experience in the security and rail sectors and started his professional career co-founding the organisation, starting his career as a frontline operative to Managing Director and being integral to its journey from a small to medium business.
I am passionate about quality of service and have built a culture and reputation of exceeding our client’s expectations. Achieving excellence is critical but I also want Land Sheriffs to be leading to drive industry best practice. I am constantly reminded of our past, and so I am careful to protect the organisations family-orientated ethos by demonstrating you can have a high-performing business that demands the best of its staff and still be an exceptionally caring environment where people know they matter, and we are on their side. I am married with three children and enjoy football, Formula 1 and Good Food!
