Making Connections - a chance to meet fellow transport professionals and hear about the latest sector successful projects/initiaives and the people behind them.
This event will see early careers professionals from across the highways, transportation and infrastructure sector join influential names within the industry to discuss and hear about key issues.
Speakers will include representatives from, National and Local Government, with added Insights from The Leading Private Organistions in the Sector covering a range of topics curated by our very own Emerging Careers Professional Network.
For organisations wishing to pay via invoice please email conferences@ciht.org.uk with the following information, and an invoice will be raised and sent out within 48hrs
Company Name
Company Invoice Address
PO Number
Contact Details
Number of Tickets required.
Please note all PO's need to be made out to Appian Trading Ltd, which is CIHT Trading company for events.
Professor Chris Whitty is Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England, the UK government’s Chief Medical Adviser and head of the public health profession.
Chris is a practising NHS Consultant Physician at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, and a visiting professor at Gresham College.
Chris is an epidemiologist and has undertaken research and worked as a doctor in the UK, Africa and Asia. He was Professor of Public and International Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) before becoming CMO and remains an honorary professor.
Chris was the interim Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) from December 2024 to June 2025. He was Chief Scientific Adviser for DHSC from January 2016 to August 2021, with overall responsibility for the department’s research and development, including being head of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the government’s major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research.
Chris was the interim Government Chief Scientific Adviser from 2017 to 2018, including during the Novichok poisonings. Before that, he was the Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for International Development (DFID), which included leading technical work on the West Africa Ebola outbreak and other international emergencies.”
Katherine Beard is the Director for Future Road Investment Strategies and Government Relations at National Highways, the organisation responsible for operating, maintaining, and improving England’s Strategic Road Network, including motorways and major A roads. She leads the development and negotiation of National Highways’ multi billion pound, five year funding settlements with the UK Government and works closely with the organisation’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road. Katherine also heads National Highways’ Government Relations function, supporting the development of future strategy and policy for the organisation and the Strategic Road Network.
Prior to joining National Highways, Katherine held a range of senior roles across the public sector, including work on major rail infrastructure programmes such as HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, as well as roles focused on data and science policy.
Nijantha Kirupakaran is the Lead Road Investment Strategy Performance and Compliance Manager at National Highways. She assesses performance against its current Road Investment Strategy and leads development of the performance framework for the next Road Investment Strategy. She helps to translate complex data into clear insight that informs senior decision-making and long-term investment outcomes.
She recently completed the organisation’s Generalist Graduate Programme, gaining experience across strategy, scheme delivery, and business change. Her work included contributing to performance metrics development, supporting investment decision-making, and working with internal and external stakeholders to progress early-stage projects and delivery.
Named Graduate of the Year 2025, she brings an early-career perspective on how investment decisions translate into delivery, and the role emerging professionals can play in developing the future of a data-driven and customer-focused Strategic Road Network.
Please note agenda is subject to change
Got a question?
t: +44 (0)20 7336 1555
e: info@ciht.org.uk