Sir Gareth Rhys Williams has been appointed as chair of roads body National Highways.
Williams was announced as chair following a “competitive selection process”. He replaces Dipesh Shah, who stepped down from his role at the end of 2023 when his three-year term came to an end.
Williams joins from the Cabinet Office, where he has been government chief commercial officer for the past eight years.
The appointment comes days after the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) announced an investigation into National Highways over concerns its performance had “dipped across several areas”.
His role will involve overseeing the government’s £24bn road investment. The latest five-year-long iteration of its road investment strategy, RIS2, will come to an end in a year and will be replaced by RIS3.
Transport secretary Mark Harper said: “As we continue to invest in improving our road network, Gareth has been clear in his commitment to help keep the country moving through the delivery of the government’s £24bn investment into roads, creating jobs and growing the economy.”
Williams said he was “delighted” to be appointed.
“[National Highways is] such a vital component of the UK’s infrastructure; a network that we all depend on for economic growth and connecting us all every day,” he added.
“I look forward to working with [chief executive Nick Harris] and his team, the board and other colleagues to help develop and then deliver the next road investment strategy.”
Williams is also a member of the advisory panel on the Financial Reporting Council and was previously chief executive of PHS Group, a hygiene and commercial cleaning services provider.
In December, National Highways appointed a Bouygues Travaux Publics and Murphy joint venture to build the tunnel section of the Lower Thames Crossing, to the tune of £1.34bn. However, the body is still going through the process of trying to obtain consent for the scheme.
Meanwhile, another major National Highways project, the £1.3bn upgrade to the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine route, suffered another delay in November when the government postponed its formal planning decision on the project.
