Graham Sant named Executive Director at BWB Consulting

17 August 2020 Consultancy.uk

The ex-leader of Capita’s infrastructure business has been handed a senior role at engineering advisory firm BWB Consulting. Graham Sant will now help the firm – which is part of rail systems giant CAF Group – to strengthen its national reputation.

BWB Consulting had become one of the UK’s largest owner-managed engineering and environmental consultancies, prior to its acquisition by CAF Group in 2017. It now has a 250-strong team based in offices in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham and London, with its staff specialising in buildings, transport and infrastructure and environment advisory work. It also has a growing reputation for carrying out complex environmental assessments for major development projects.

As the firm looks to emphasise its footprint across Britain, it has recently committed to a campaign of senior hires. Recently this saw Chris Miller-Jones return to the business after three years in the US with Arcadis to take on the role of BWB’s Sustainability Director – focusing on the corporate advisory, asset management and institutional funding sectors. Following on from this, Graham Sant has also joined the firm’s senior ranks, arriving as an Executive Director.

Graham Sant named Executive Director at BWB Consulting

Based out of BWB’s Manchester offices, Sant will operate for the firm on a national basis. His remit centres on strengthening the firm’s national reputation, and enhancing its capability in the delivery of major infrastructure and regeneration projects. His 30-year career includes spells managing and delivering major schemes for a number of high-profile clients, as well as key experience working with major utility companies, the Environment Agency, central and local government and place-based partnerships across the UK.

Commenting on his new role, Sant said, “BWB is an incredibly entrepreneurial business and it’s a real pleasure for me to join a team which has the culture to think innovatively, act responsively and get things done for clients… These are challenging times, but we can see some real opportunities to lever BWB’s expertise in new markets, to build on its reputation for planning and designing major projects and to work alongside colleagues at CAF’s rail systems consultancy, CAF Turnkey and Engineering.”

After a decade in civil engineering, Sant entered the consulting world in 1999, joining Capita. By 2016, he had risen to the rank of Managing Director of Infrastructure in the firm’s real estate and infrastructure wing, working on projects including HS2, Network Rail and Highways England in the UK, and the Mecca-Medina high-speed rail project in Saudi Arabia. He exited the firm, noting on his personal LinkedIn that he was open to new challenges, in May 2020. By July, he had secured Fellowship status with the Institution of Civil Engineers, before taking up a new position with BWB.

Steve Wooler, CEO of BWB Group, said, “While market conditions remain challenging, we are actively recruiting and have identified some key opportunities for the future, both in the UK and abroad. We have a strong pipeline of flagship infrastructure projects, including the booming logistics and distribution market, and new initiatives with CAF… Graham’s appointment is a perfect example of our determination to build on our reputation for delivering major development and regeneration projects and we’re thrilled to bring on board someone with his track record and reputation.”