SLR Consulting strengthens UK team with Xavier Brice

Xavier Brice has been installed as a director at SLR Consulting. He joins the sustainable planning and infrastructure team.

SLR is a  global environmental and advisory consultancy, with a team of more than 5,000 professionals operating from a network of offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. In recent years, as demand around sustainability and energy consulting has risen, the firm has utilised a number of deals to ramp up its expertise and capacity.

Xavier Brice, the former chief executive of Walk Wheel Cycle Trust and a key architect of London’s cycling revolution, will now head up these efforts, as the firm’s new director of sustainable planning and infrastructure. The role will integrate disciplines across planning, infrastructure and environment, improving the delivery of sustainable place offerings at every stage of the built environment lifecycle. 

Brice commented, “After ten years, I saw a natural point to step aside and enable fresh leadership. I was keen to return to cross-sector work, and my role at SLR allows me to operate across public, private and political environments, broadening my focus beyond travel alone. I’m joining a growing business with the opportunity to help shape its direction, building on my longstanding interest in place, not just movement, and supporting the creation of resilient infrastructure through a more integrated, systems-led approach.” 

Brice will lead the growth of an integrated sustainable built environment offering across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with a focus on adaptability and long-term approaches to placemaking. He will draw on experience from Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans), where he served as CEO for a decade. During his tenure, he played a significant role in transforming walking, wheeling and cycling across the UK, including overseeing the delivery of more than 500 miles of new and improved National Cycle Network routes. Prior to this, he was instrumental at Transport for London (TfL) in developing the strategies that defined the capital’s modern cycling infrastructure. 

Mike Axon, global director of transport at SLR Consulting, added, “As we move towards a new era of planning, where vision leads and delivery follows, we’re delighted to welcome Xavier into this important role. His track record of delivering national-scale change will help bring greater alignment across our planning and infrastructure services, strengthening how we deliver integrated, strategic solutions for our clients.”