David has worked in the field of transport infrastructure since 2002, developing specialisms in strategic planning, business case preparation, project risk management and value management. His knowledge in these areas led to part-time teaching engagements at Newcastle University's Centre for Railway Research and the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Leeds, and invitations to address organisations as diverse as the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications and the Royal Town Planning Institute. His professional achievements include representing Network Rail on the early working groups for High Speed 2, and developing and delivering two-day training courses on whole life costing and rail project appraisal. Whilst at WSP he worked for public and private-sector clients, ranging from property developers and local authorities through to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Since 2019, he has been Head of Rail Specification & Delivery at Transport for the North, responsible for guiding projects from conception to business case. Prior to joining Network Rail, David taught British and European nineteenth-century history at the University of Manchester. He is a fellow of the Institute of Risk Management and the Strategic Planning Society, and an associate fellow of the Royal Historical Society.