Rail engineer becomes IMechE's new President

Griffiths said of her appointment: “I am honoured to have been elected by the membership to become the President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

“I am hoping to work alongside other institutions to see if we can together, find a framework which will promote further collaboration in areas where we have common professional interests. After all, there are few engineering endeavours that engage only a single discipline of engineering.

“I also think it will be important to work in parallel with members and staff to find new ways of delivering value to engineers, employees, key decision makers and potentially also those that interface with engineering. And I want to examine what we can do to further equality and diversity in our profession.”

An experienced rail engineer, Griffiths has worked in a variety of roles in the UK and overseas since starting out on the shop floor as a trainee. Most recently, she was a Senior Vice President of an international manufacturing organisation following which she founded and led the UK’s Rail Accident Investigation Branch reporting directly to the Secretary of State for Transport. She is a Non-Executive Director of Irish Rail and spends significant time working voluntarily with a number of the key engineering professional bodies including the Engineering Council and the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Carolyn Griffiths succeeds Jon Hilton, who became President in May 2016.