Turner & Townsend has appointed Emma Gilthorpe as chief transformation officer.
Gilthorpe (pictured), who has more than 20 years of experience in leading complex business transformation, strategy and operational performance improvement, was most recently chief executive of Royal Mail in the UK
Prior to that, she spent nearly 15 years on the executive team at Heathrow Airport as chief operations officer and earlier in her tenure, she established Heathrow’s £30bn expansion programme.
In this newly created role, she will be responsible for driving global transformation across Turner & Townsend’s operating platform, including embracing the opportunities of AI and technology to achieve the company’s ambition to become the world’s leading programme management business.
David Whysall, chief operating officer at Turner & Townsend, said: “We are delighted to welcome Emma to our global leadership team. The significance of her appointment demonstrates the size of our ambition. Emma is one of our industry’s most prominent figures with a tremendous track record of operating and delivering significant transformation across a range of large, multi-sector organisations and will play an integral role in accelerating our own global growth ambitions. Emma’s role in overseeing Heathrow’s transition to become one of the world’s leading infrastructure operators will be very relevant as we continue to support our clients’ deliver major complex programmes.”
Gilthorpe added: “I am excited to be joining a fantastic business which I had first-hand experience of as a client during my time at Heathrow. I am looking forward to working with a great team of people at what is a pivotal time in the company’s growth journey.”
