Richard Walker-**LEFT COMPANY**

Said the following about Richard Gannon:

“Richard joined Network Rail on a six-month graduate placement in 2013 and immediately made an impact by supporting the delivery of some key buildings and civils schemes. This is no mean feat as upgrading and electrifying the Midland Main Line is a complex and comprehensive programme involving the reconstruction of over 200 bridges from London to Sheffield. Perhaps even more impressive is that Richard was named as the Young Rail Professional of the Year in April this year.

Although not from a railway background, he showed a strong passion and enthusiasm for the industry, taking a hands-on approach to rapidly broaden his experience and knowledge, and grasp the challenges, such as stakeholder management and issue resolution. It’s hardly surprising that he was offered a permanent role at the end of his placement, but – as testament to his commitment to the industry – he turned down more senior roles, closer to home, in order to take us up on our offer.

Richard leads by example, not only on projects, but also in the initiatives he leads. For example, he was instrumental in producing a Diversity & Inclusion guide, to ensure that decisions about structures take into account those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. The Diversity Impact Assessments he is leading will directly help to improve the railway for all.

Despite his youth, he has demonstrated immense maturity and sound judgment in the decisions he makes. For example, he took a project from Single Option Development back to Option Selection, believing a better option was available for people with disabilities. His deep understanding of our Access and Inclusion strategy and his strength in communication helped him to gain buy in from the Department for Transport, the local community and MP, East Midlands Trains and the Route Asset Manager. Consequently, we proceeded with a more expensive option that benefitted a greater number of people and demonstrated a better whole life cost solution.

Richard excels in team-building and stakeholder management. For example, for each of his projects, he holds stakeholder meetings, produces a newsletter and individual websites to respond to queries from the public.

Richard is committed to developing the next generation of young railway professionals. He mentors four young railway professionals from the Graduate Scheme, MSC scheme, and Year in Industry Scheme He provides them with engaging experiences that demonstrate the diversity of a career in the rail industry, in areas such as signalling, control centers, freight and passenger train operating companies.“