Ex-HS2 chief exec Simon Kirby lands senior role at consultant Nichols

Kirby has held several high profile positions within infrastructure clients, having been chief executive at HS2, as well as managing director of infrastructure projects at Network Rail. Kirby has also previously acted as chief operating officer at Rolls Royce.

Having acted as an adviser to the Nichols Group since 2018, Kirby takes up his new position officially next month.

Frances Nichols and Kathryn Nichols remain as chair and chief executive of The Nichols Group respectively’

Speaking to NCE about his appointment, Kirby said that he is looking forwards to being on the other side of the table having spent much of his career on the client-side.

“I am really excited about the role,” he said. “Having been a client most of my career what I have always thought is that consultancies are all about the people within them and the quality of those people.

“At Nichols there is a good balance of experience and diversity of thought. We work across a wide range of sectors from roads and rail and energy.”

He added: “We [Nichols] almost exclusively work client side and I think I can add something valuable having had that client perspective.”

Kirby said that there are three areas within the infrastructure sphere that he is hoping to tackle in his new role.

The first is speeding up project proposals to get to the delivery phase. The second is promoting and advancing the Net Zero carbon reduction agenda and the third is driving development of infrastructure in the North of England.

“Having seen and worked within a number of facets of the industry, I am very passionate about infrastructure and I think it is important to stress that infrastructure is more than just good engineering, it is about improving society and ultimately improving people’s lives,” he said.

“On Net Zero, I don’t think the industry has woken up to its importance yet. Decarbonisation is going to be a big part of all project proposals moving forwards.

“It is where safety was 15 or 20 years ago – safety is now a big part of every decision we make and I think that is where Net Zero and decarbonisation will end up sooner than most people think.”

He added: “Improving infrastructure in the North is also a big opportunity and passion of mine. Not just because I live in the North, but because I know that it is needed.

“HS2 is really important but it will only rebalance the country if we get both HS2 and local schemes in place.”

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