Crossrail: Tackling the Tough Questions

The Elizabeth line is a 114km new east-west railway that runs through the heart of Britain’s capital city. It is considered the first fully digitalized railway to be built and operated here in the U.K. and one of the biggest railway infrastructure projects in Europe. Crossrail Ltd delivered the Elizabeth line which includes ten new stations and involved over 75,000 people in the construction process.

Mark Wild is CEO of Crossrail Ltd and has more than 30 years leading complex and critical infrastructure. A chartered electrical engineer he started his career in the electricity sector, but the majority of his experience has been in transportation. He has had a long career in operating and building major transportation infrastructure. He is the former Managing Director of Westinghouse Signals and was the CEO of Public Transport Victoria in Australia. Mark has also been the Managing Director of London Underground. In December 2018 he was appointed CEO of Crossrail which is delivering the Elizabeth line, one of Europe’s largest infrastructure projects.

Donald Morrison is Senior Vice President & Chief Growth Officer at Jacobs. Donald started his career in Jacobs’ highways business where he initially worked in the development consultancy business for several private sector developers. He rose to Senior Vice President and General Manager for People & Places Solutions Europe after leading the Sustainable Strategies & Solutions business unit for five years and fulfilling several senior Operations and Sales positions. Donald sits on the Jacobs European Inclusion & Diversity Council and was recently awarded Honorary STEM Ambassador by STEM Learning.

Russell Pilgrim is People & Places Solutions Program Director for Jacobs’ Major Project & Program business. For the past three years he has overseen some of the company’s key contribution to Crossrail, the Elizabeth line. In addition, he serves as Jacobs’ designated project executive and company board director on our Crossrail Program Partner joint venture called Transcend. Russell has recently been appointed as the Jacobs European functional lead for program delivery sharing best practice on lessons and solutions for clients here in the U.K. and overseas, such as Marinus Australia, Metrolinx Canada and MRT Malaysia. As a voluntary Business Mentor for The Prince’s Trust Enterprise Programme, Russell is inspired to work with young people to help turn their innovative ideas into business reality.