Former Bouygues UK chair and chief executive Fabienne Viala has joined the board of HS2 Ltd, a year after leaving the tier one contractor.
Viala, who spent eight years Bouygues’ UK construction arm, is one of six new non-executive directors appointed to the HS2 Ltd board. Her appointment was confirmed in a Companies House filing earlier this month.
She formally joined the HS2 board on 3 December alongside Heidelberg Materials chief executive Simon Willis and civil engineer Neil Reynolds.
A further three members, former MTR UK chief executive Stephen Murphy, former Restoration and Renewal (Palace of Westminster) Delivery Authority non-executive director Anna McMeel and ex-Network Rail executive Rob McIntosh, are due to join on 1 January.
The appointments follow a Department for Transport (DfT) recruitment campaign launched in May to strengthen governance at the company, which is delivering High Speed 2.
The move also implements a recommendation from the James Stewart review, published in June, which found that HS2 Ltd lacked board-level expertise in key areas including commercial management, safety and systems integration.
Viala brings more than 35 years’ experience in infrastructure, energy and construction.
She was promoted to chief executive in 2023 – after serving as chair since 2016.
A statement on the government’s website said she had “led complex, high-value programmes in regulated environments” and had a strong record in delivering transformation and embedding sustainability.
HS2 Ltd chair Mike Brown said: “I’m delighted to welcome six brilliant additions to the HS2 Ltd board who will significantly strengthen our leadership and oversight of the project at such a crucial moment.
“All six are leaders in their field and will ensure that the board has the right balance of skills and experience to effectively drive the HS2 reset.”
The new non-executive directors replace Joanna Davinson and Stephen Hughes, who stepped down from the board on 2 December.
Read More
Nicola Harley