Women in Rail (WR) has appointed five new trustees to its governing Board.
Sarah Reid, Gary Smithson, Ruth Busby, Mat Baine, and Philippa Hinton all hold key positions in the Rail sector and are ardent supporters of WR.
Welcoming the new trustees, WR Chair Christine Fernandes said: “I am delighted to announce these new trustee appointments in the charity’s 10th anniversary year.
“Sarah, Gary, Ruth, Matt and Philippa are exceptional people in senior roles and bring with them considerable influence and experience which will greatly benefit WR.
“Having them as trustees will definitely strengthen our team as the charity continues its efforts to achieve a more gender-balanced and diverse UK rail industry.”
Sarah Reid is Route Director East Coast at Network Rail and, in her role as WR Regional Chair in the East Midlands, launched ‘Never Mind the Gap’ – a cross industry work placement scheme to encourage more women into rail. Sarah has more than 14 years’ experience in the sector having worked in companies including Bombardier Transportation, Invensys Rail and Westinghouse Rail.
Gary Smithson is rail director at Morson Talent. Morson have been a long-standing advocate for WR. They have supported WR flagship events and during the pandemic, supported lockdown events to support children and parents home schooling. Gary, who has more than 20 years’ experience in recruitment, is also a judge for this year’s WR Awards.
Ruth Busby is WR regional co-chair in the South and has been HR director for Great Western Railway since 2018. Ruth is passionate about inclusion and diversity, a key driver throughout her career. Before joining GWR she worked in several sectors including defence, higher education, and the civil service. Ruth is a qualified leadership coach, Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and trained mediator.
Mat Baine has spent 10 years as managing director at Egis Transport Solutions (formally CPMS),’ Again, another solid supporter of WR through sponsorship of WR Awards, Big Rail Diversity Challenge and home-schooling lockdown events ─ he is also a judge for the Awards.
Philippa Hinton is a senior associate at leading global law firm, Ashurst. She specialises in transport and infrastructure projects and has significant experience of commercial contracts in the rail sector. Philippa’s extensive experience spans projects for West Coast Trains Ltd, Keolis Amey, Transport for London and Cory Riverside Energy among others. She is also company secretary of The Railway Children charity.
Now in its 10th year and with more than 7,500 members worldwide, WR improves diversity in the UK rail industry by providing networking opportunities and support, encouraging diversity as a business strategy, and developing initiatives to promote rail as an attractive career choice.
The charity holds regular networking events and development workshops across the UK through its regional groups and runs a successful cross-industry mentoring programme open to both females and males. For more information about WR visit womeninrail.org.
