Paula is LCRIG’s Chief Executive and formerly Director, Government and Strategy at LCRIG. Paula was previously Executive Board Director at Gaist, the multi-award-winning international highways and mobile mapping company working with the Government, local authorities, private sector, and international organisations. Paula has had a career spanning a range of sectors including leading local government frontline services, Assistant Director for a national public sector improvement agency tasked with performance improvement in councils, KPMG Government Advisory, international consulting assignments, political lobbying sector, and independent national government advisory roles. Paula has also worked in executive leadership roles in the charitable sector including a major stem cell cancer charity leading their operations department and a strategic policy and lobbying role in a leading environmental charity focused on behaviour change to improve local environmental quality.
Working in the Highways sector Paula has been a guest on several BBC Radio4 programmes relating to Infrastructure, international radio and TV programmes, quoted in The Sunday Times, authored articles for IHE, CIHT, RSMA, LCRIG Insights and spoken regularly at national industry conferences both in the UK and internationally. In 2018, Paula was an expert witness to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee on Local Roads Funding and Governance with acknowledgement by the Committee Chair in the House of Commons and Hansards. Paula is a Steering Group Member for the subsequent new change in Road Condition Statistics (PAS 2161), part of the NIC CAM expert group and provides policy advisory support the DfT Transport Technology Forum which LCRIG manages. Paula’s knowledge and insights are also drawn upon regularly by other DfT team including Traffic and Technology and Local Roads. Paula is part of the National Highways strategic Research and Innovation Advisory Board, and soon to be on the editorial advisory board for Highways Magazine. Paula has also been a technical committee member for PIARC (World Roads Association), and has a passion for all things innovation in the highways sector.