Who could succeed Andy Byford at the helm of TfL?

Having battled through the pandemic, pushed Crossrail over the line and negotiated a long-term funding deal with government, Andy Byford has called time on his reign as TfL commissioner.

After taking the hotseat in June 2020, Byford has succeeded in the two tasks he outlined at the start of his tenure: to deliver the Elizabeth line and to secure a long-term funding deal for TfL.

Whoever comes next will have to live with the “tricky conditions” attached to the funding deal and will have to find a way to make TfL thrive in a post-pandemic London where travel patterns have changed.

So who could be in the running?

Andy Lord

An early favourite for the role, Andy Lord will take up the commissioner position on an interim basis until a replacement is found. Lord’s rise through the ranks at TfL has been rapid since he joined in 2019 as managing director of the London Underground. Earlier this year, he was promoted to chief operating officer and there is precedent for former London Underground managing director to become commissioner. Byford’s predecessor Mike Brown made that exact move when he became commissioner in 2015.

Mark Wild

Wild would no doubt be a fans’ favourite to return to TfL, after successfully getting Crossrail over the line. Taking on Crossrail in 2018, Wild’s honest and transparent management style won him many plaudits as the project delivery body’s chief executive. Having also previously held the managing director role at the London Underground, taking on the commissioner role would be a logical step. However, Wild has just taken up a new position as chief executive of SGN. And speaking to NCE in the days after his departure from Crossrail, it appeared as if he was relishing the opportunity to return to an industry in which he first plied his trade.

Andy Mitchell

Work on Tideway continues apace and the project is racing towards its 2025 delivery date. This year main tunnelling was complete, with all six tunnel boring machines having now finished their drives. It is therefore not beyond the realms of possibility that Tideway bosses may be looking for their next move. Tideway chief executive Andy Mitchell is one of a handful of Tideway senior officers who may fancy throwing their hat in the ring for TfL’s commissioner role. After all, Mitchell acted as programme director of Crossrail for five years before he took on the Tideway job and has previously held senior positions at Network Rail.

Beth West

Given the uncertainty surrounding the latter phases of East West Rail, the East West Railway Company’s chief executive could soon be on the lookout for a move. It would be a quick departure for Beth West having only taken up the challenge of delivering the Oxford-Cambridge rail line in October. Any chance of West leaving for TfL is likely to rest with new transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, after her predecessor Grant Shapps repeatedly suggested the project could be axed. West does have previous experience at TfL having held senior positions at the organisation for eight years before taking up director positions at HS2 Ltd and Tideway.

Sarah Feinberg

TfL could again look overseas for a commissioner. If they do so, Byford’s interim successor as president of the New York Transit Authority Sarah Feinberg could be one to watch. Feinberg took over from Byford in March 2020 and held the role for more than a year until Richard Davey was brought in on a full time basis in July 2021. Feinberg was then nominated by New York mayor Andrew Cuomo to be chairperson of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). However, the Senate did not act on her nomination and as a result, Feinberg left the MTA on 30 July 2021.

Nigel Holness

Another former managing director of the London Underground who could step in at the top is Nigel Holness. Holness is currently acting as managing director at MTR Elizabeth line after two years down under where he acted as chief executive of Sydney Metro. It would be fair to say Holness knows TfL inside out, having held a number of high ranking positions largely in rail. A two year stint as operations and asset manager director could hold him in good stead if applying for the commissioner job, with TfL needing to address the state of a number of structures across the Capital.

Jim O’Sullivan

Former Highways England (now National Highways) boss Jim O’Sullivan would be an outside bet for the commissioner role. However, the Irishman could be tempted having only taken up part-time non exec roles at the Major Projects Association and AGS Airports since leaving his post at the roads body after almost six years. Prior to taking up his role at Highways England, O’Sullivan was a managing director at Heathrow Airport and could be tempted by a return to London.

Martin Tugwell

Poaching Transport for the North’s chief executive for the top job in London may not go down too well with some, but TfL would be amiss not to test Tugwell’s resolve. Tugwell has more than 20 years of experience in strategic transport and infrastructure planning at national, regional and local levels, with previous roles at England’s Economic Heartland, the South East England Regional Assembly, the Transport Systems Catapult, and Oxfordshire and Devon County Councils. Immediately prior to joining Transport for the North, Tugwell was director for England’s Economic Heartland – one of England’s seven sub-national transport bodies.

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