Annette was appointed Head of Innovation in November 2017. She joined the then Highways Agency in the late 1990’s after completing a PhD in inorganic chemistry at the University of Leeds. During the subsequent 20 plus years at the Highways Agency, and later Highways England, she has had a varied career including press and corporate communications, research programme management, international co-ordination and Lean, where she has driven a continuous improvement culture within National Highways (formerly Highways England) and its suppliers. A passionate advocate of change and improvement in the construction industry and more widely in infrastructure, she has a strong record in leading and delivering improvements in asset management, engineering and technical assurance.
In her present role, Annette’s priorities include creating a robust innovation system within National Highways to deliver real change and benefit for the company, and also to bring in new thinking, with a current focus on decarbonisation.