Transport Energy Network

Ian Constance joined the Advanced Propulsion Centre as CEO in September 2015. Prior to this Ian worked with Ford Motor Company in Detroit where he was most recently Global Chief Engineer for Large Cars.

In that position he led the product development activities for the Ford Mondeo/Fusion and Ford Taurus. The role involved all elements of the product engineering, design, manufacturing readiness and business case development with a very keen focus on future customer needs. Working on these product lines gave Ian wide experience of developing and integrating HEV, PHEV and high tech Gasoline and Diesel internal combustion engines into global platforms.

Ian has held positions globally in the automotive industry with over 25 years’ experience. Prior to his time working in the US, he spent six years at Ford’s Asia Pacific HQ, first in Bangkok and then in Shanghai. During an unprecedented period of growth and change in that part of the world in the role of Director of Product Programs he was responsible for delivering many well-known Ford products into manufacturing plants, joint ventures and markets throughout the region.

Ian’s early career saw leadership roles developing the Ford Focus in-vehicle platform engineering, powertrain planning and manufacturing engineering roles, as well as an assignment in production management. He gained an engineering degree from Aston University, an MSc in Advanced Automotive Engineering from Loughborough University and is a chartered engineer.

Bob Dover, FREng, FlMechE, FRSA, FLED, is a former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Cars and Land Rover, and a former Vice-President of the Ford Motor Company. Prior to this he held the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Aston Martin. Bob has spent over 30 years in the automotive industry and has a wealth of knowledge.

Bob also serves as an Industrial Professor of Industrial Manufacturing at Warwick University and as a Visiting Professor of Engineering at Coventry University.

Bob will take on the role of Chairman of the Advanced Propulsion Centre.

Professor Neville Jackson chairs both the RAC Foundation and the Institute of Digital Engineering Advisory Board. He has been a member of the UK Automotive Council since it was formed and currently chairs the Strategy group.

He has spent nearly 40 years in Industrial Research & Development, primarily in transport and energy systems at Ricardo plc where he was Chief Technology & Innovation Officer from 2009 to 2019. He has coordinated and authored a wide range of technology roadmaps at National and European level, defining the potential, and technology pathways for transport energy, propulsion systems, future vehicle electrical/electronic architectures and digitalisation/virtual product development.

A graduate of Imperial College, London, he is also a visiting Professor at the University of Brighton. He is also a Fellow of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering where he is a member of the Policy Fellowship programme, offering independent advice to selected Government policymakers.

His past roles have included Chairman of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, a member of the EPSRC Strategic Advisory Network, Vice Chair of the European Road Transport Research Advisory Council (ERTRAC) and a member of the Industry Delegation for the European Green Vehicles Initiative (EGVI).

Geoffrey Bicknell FCA, CPA is a qualified Chartered Accountant in the UK and Canada, with a background in multinational Corporations in the USA, Europe and the UK. He is currently involved in start-ups, fundraising, business development and growth, particularly in the Automotive Components area.

Geoffrey has operated in industrial sectors including Automotive, Aerospace, IT, Engineering and Logistics. He has hands-on experience in acquisitions and disposals, international joint ventures, turnarounds, and public listings, holding both senior executive and non-executive roles. Geoffrey has board experience, including on the Chair of Board Committees, and represents UK shareholders on the boards of foreign business ventures.

Executive positions he has held include:

Rockwell International Corp. – VP Finance, German Automotive components division and Managing Director, UK Automotive Components.

Lucas Group ltd – Group FD Diesel Global Operations and Board member of Non-UK ventures.

TI Group Plc – Director Operations Strategy and Anglo/ French Aerospace Group, and President North America Polymer Division.

Geoffrey is currently senior advisor to private equity and venture capital investors and has a keen interest in developing a significant UK automotive supply chain industry.

Charles’ first career was with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, culminating as Director of Trade and Investment for China, based in the Embassy in Beijing, responsible also for Commercial Offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing. He undertook a two year secondment from the FCO to BI (British Invisibles), a predecessor to The CityUK, where he was an Executive Director and Director of Communications and Public Affairs, and also a Board member.

From 2004-2008 he was with the Group Strategy function of Royal Bank of Scotland, responsible for the China projects arising from the RBS investment in Bank of China, but with a portfolio that included oversight of the Group’s responses to Competition Inquiries and the publication of major corporate communication documents, including  the Group Corporate Responsibility Report and the Annual Review.

In 2008, he joined the Group Strategy function of HSBC, where he set up the Financial Sector Policy Unit, reporting to the Group Chairman, to coordinate the Group’s response to regulatory change after the financial crisis. The wider role of the function was to manage externalities impacting HSBC, including HSBC’s external public sector and academic relationships, and to develop a forward-looking agenda for infrastructure finance, sustainable finance, and SME finance. His team set up the Business Growth Fund (BGF) and drove the initiation of London as an international hub for the RMB.

Dr Joanne Bray, Deputy Director, Automotive Unit, Department for Business and Trade

Jo became Head of the Automotive Unit in June 2022, leading a multi-disciplinary team to work with the sector in its transformation to low carbon, connected and autonomous technologies, supporting the UK economy, including supporting joint R&D programmes, and crafting the broader policy and fiscal environment.

Prior to that, she joined BEIS in April 2017 to lead the Bioeconomy and Chemicals team, championing UK manufacturing, driving growth and productivity and supporting commercialisation of the best of UK science and research.

Jo has also worked at Defra where she had a variety of roles specialising in environmental, agriculture and food issues, including responsibility for market access in the Great British Food Unit, prioritising new markets, improving processes for exporters and leading work on EU exit issues for the food sector.

A graduate from Imperial College, she has a BSc in biology and a PhD in atmospheric chemistry and urban air quality. Jo also recently completed an Executive Masters in Public Policy and Economics at the LSE, graduating in 2020.

Professor Colin Garner FREng, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Applied Thermodynamics at Loughborough University and an independent consultant.

He has held over 40 major government and industrial grants for advanced research covering power and energy systems, fuels, fluid flow, heat transfer, combustion and emissions control. This research has covered a variety of applications including battery electric and engine powertrains. His research has been featured in New Scientist and on BBC TV and radio. Colin has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers and has six granted patents. His research has received several international prizes, including from the SAE and IMechE.

He is directly engaged with major international companies and the Automotive Council. Early in his career he gained significant experience working on bus and rail vehicle development at what is now called Transport for London. He has served as an academic adviser to the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) Heavy Duty Vehicle Strategy Action Group and as the technical director of the Caterpillar Innovation and Research Centre at Loughborough University.

From 2005 to 2017 he was the Editor-in-Chief of Proc. IMechE: Journal of Automobile Engineering and he continues to serve on the journal’s editorial board.

He joined Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) UK Ltd as a non-executive director in 2014. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Mike is the Executive Director for Net Zero at Innovate UK – with a vision to ensure the UK prospers from being the fastest transitioning economy to Net Zero. Between 2015 and 2020 nearly 6,000 companies received Net Zero related grants from Innovate UK worth £1.9bn which catalysed £4.8bn of private investment and created 67,000 new jobs.

Prior to this, Mike was Programme Director for the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to deliver the research and science that businesses needs to transform existing industries, create new ones and deliver economic impact, jobs and growth.

Before joining Innovate UK, Mike worked in the photonics industry for 10 years after graduating with a masters in physics from Imperial College, London. He is a board member of the Advanced Propulsion Centre and Aerospace Technologies Institute and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.