Transport for London finance boss Steve Allen has quit the organisation to take up the post of Chief Financial Officer at HS2 Ltd, the Government backed company developing the UK’s newest high-speed rail link.
At TfL Allen was responsible for more than £11bn worth of annual transport spending and £21bn of capital investment, and was also overseeing the organisation’s efforts to trim costs.
Before joining the capital’s transport agency in 2003 he held positions at the Department for Transport, Citigroup and Abbey National.
News of his departure comes just weeks after TfL boss Sir Peter Hendy was poached by the transport secretary to head the board of trouble rail infrastructure company Network Rail.
However HS2 says his appointment was agreed before Sir Peter’s move was announced and is unrelated to his former boss’s departure.
HS2 Ltd Chief Executive Simon Kirby said: “On a project as large and complex as HS2, rigorous financial control is essential. That’s why I am delighted to welcome Steve to the team. His experience of delivering multi-billion pound investment programmes will be invaluable as we move towards the start of construction in 2017.”
Mr Allen said: “HS2 is an ambitious, innovative and challenging project that promises to transform the experience of rail travel for huge numbers of people across the UK and provide a major boost to economic growth. I am excited to be joining at such a critical time for the project.”
