Judges Profile
Caroline
Sheridan
director of engineering
,TfL
I am a Chartered Civil Engineer with over 20 years experience in the construction industry. From graduation, I worked for 7 years with the contractor AMEC learning how projects are designed, constructed and commercially delivered. My projects covered aviation, water treatment, buildings, rail and tunnelling
In 2003, I joined BAA as project manager and worked client side on Terminal 5 in a partnering mega-project environment. My portfolio of responsibility expanded from small landside enabling projects through to overall responsibility for the landside and airfield infrastructure including the operational transition. It was during my experience at T5 that I really understood the beneficial impact of safety leadership and is something I have continued to embed within my teams.
Following T5, I spent 18 months leading a portfolio of projects at the front end of the life cycle determining business need and benefit. I then led a change programme which ultimately set the capital investment model and processes for how Heathrow operates today.
My next role was on the Terminal 2 Programme and I led the integration of operational work streams to ensure readiness for the terminal opening. It was an insight into the operational challenges of the airport and an opportunity to transfer my learning from T5 to plan for T2 opening.
More recently, I returned to the Development side of the business leading asset replacement projects before taking accountability for the capital investment for infrastructure projects as Airside and Landside Delivery Director. This involved leading the delivery of £250M annual investment working collaboratively with the supply chain to ensure safety, efficiency and without impact to the operation. The projects were mainly asset replacement works as well as a proportion of larger investments to improve the resilience of the airfield and passenger experience. After 15 years, the time was right for me to apply myself in a new environment and TfL has provided that opportunity.
I joined TfL as Director of Renewals & Enhancement for London Underground, accountable for the delivery of investment for a broad portfolio of projects with benefits across the network. I led this team for 2 years from a newly created directorate. Delivering safely was at the heart of what I embedded and we achieved a significant improvement in our safety culture. This also set the basis for better project delivery focusing on scope, plan and creating a great place to work resulting in safe, more efficient and reliable projects for London Underground.
I am now Director of TfL Engineering Delivery with accountability for pan TfL asset strategy and engineering outcomes. My immediate focus is to ensure we have clarity on our safety obligations and understand our important contribution to Vision Zero. I have introduced the work undertaken on asset lifecycle so the team can engage and contribute in embedding this across TfL. I will be working across TfL to ensure we understand the needs of our customers so we can deliver a quality 25-year asset plan and engineering outcomes aligned to TfL. Altogether I want to build an engaged, professional team and a great place to work.