David Wright

David Wright - National Grid - FReng, FIET, MIGEM
Group Chief Engineer & Group Director of Safety, Health & Business Resilience

David is responsible for driving safety and engineering excellence across the National Grid group. His remit covers all technologies, including electricity, gas, hydrogen and carbon capture, and extends across all group operations in both the UK and US.

He is an expert in safety and resilience, providing strategic oversight to National Grid’s engineering activities and capabilities, including assurance to the Board.

David is also the company’s engineering ambassador, responsible for growing our engineering credentials at the heart of the energy transition. He advises governments and other key stakeholders, helping to solve the engineering challenges brought about by the transition to net zero.

David joined National Grid in 1992 as an electrical engineer. He has occupied senior management positions on both gas and electricity networks in the UK and US, including leading National Grid’s electricity transmission business in the UK for many years, and has also led our Gas Transmission operations, as well as teams in both the gas and electricity control centres.

Before joining National Grid, David worked for VSEL (now BAE Systems) – the only submarine builder in the UK – designing electrical generation and distribution systems for warships.

He’s a Fellow of both the Royal Academy of Engineering and IET, a dual-accredited Chartered Engineer with both the IET and IGEM, and a member of the Institute of Asset Management (IAM) and a Major in the Staff Corps.

David was born in Wales and lives in Northamptonshire. He has two daughters and is passionate about rugby.

David Salisbury

An experienced Executive focussed on Asset Management in regulated utilities in UK and Australia.  Executive experience in Gas Distribution, Gas Transmission, Electricity Transmission in the UK, Electricity Distribution and Water Networks in Australia.  David is currently leading an Asset Management Transformation across Babcock and the MOD at the Devonport Royal Dockyard and Naval Base, the largest Dockyard in Western Europe the home of Britain’s Nuclear Submarine Fleet.   

Before returning to the UK in 2021 David led Asset Management and Engineering at Essential Energy, operator of Australia’ largest, most geographically diverse and fastest transforming Electricity Network, Essential Energy also includes a water utility Essential Water supplying the historic mining town Broken Hill. 

A British Citizen with Australian Permanent Residence Status,  who has led cross industry developments in Australia, UK and Europe, holding the roles of Member of the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) Reliability Panel; Deputy Chair of Energy Networks Australia’s Asset Management Committee; and previously a Trustee and Member of Council of the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM); President of the Gas, European Research Group (GERG); Executive Board member of Marcogaz and Eurogas representing the UK Gas Industry.

Previous career highlights include being the founding CEO of Energy and Utility Skills in the UK and leading a Program of business and IT change for 4 companies to separate and relocate Control Centres for Northern Gas Networks; Scotia Gas Networks; Wales and West Utilities and National Grid Gas Distribution following the 2006 Gas Network sales; David was awarded the Gas Industry Skills for Business award in 2009 for this program.

A Chartered Engineering with a 1^st Class Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering; In the UK CEng, FIMechE, FIGEM and MIAM and  in Australia holding CPEng, Eng Exec, FIEAust.  and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Sally Sudworth

Sally is a chartered engineer and chartered environmentalist, is a fellow of the IAM and co-chairs the Climate Emergency Programme. As a keen champion for sustainability and climate change, Sally promotes a proactive response through a number of industry bodies.

She founded and chairs the Climate Emergency Group at the Women’s Engineering Society and also sits on the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction Carbon Code advisory group. Sally organised and chaired a joint panel session at COP26 in Glasgow on sustainability and the climate emergency, co-ordinating representation from the IAM, WES and the World Federation of Engineering Organisations. She was awarded the IAM President’s special award and the Isabel Hardwich medal in recognition of this work.

Prior to working at Mott MacDonald as the global head of sustainability and climate change, Sally led the net zero carbon strategy for infrastructure at the UK Environment Agency and was flood exec for the Northwest, and before that was director for the low zero carbon hub in Wales. 

Sally spent 10 years as a director for Engineers for Overseas Development, an engineering charity that provides development opportunities for graduates to become professionally qualified. Their community led projects are based in sub-Sahara Africa and help to alleviate poverty and improve the quality of people’s lives.

Helen Samuels

Helen is a Chartered Civil Engineer with a Masters in Environmental Management, and fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. She is currently Managing Director for the Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial, BAM joint venture (EKFB) delivering 80km of the new highspeed railway for HS2 Ltd, and with a scope including 15 viaducts, over 80 bridges, three cut and cover ‘green’ tunnels and a network of road diversions. All in all, over 50 million m³ of earthworks over 4 seasons.

Previous roles include engineering director for Network Rail’s £6bn per year capital programme, engineering director at United Utilities, where she created a new technical authority for full asset lifecycle, and CEO for the international shipping business Bibby Marine, where she led the application of the IAM asset management framework across the business.

Helen also led an industry-wide review of asset governance as part of a wider piece of work led by Prof Peter Hansford for the ICE post Grenfell. She has previously served as industry advisor for Plymouth, Cardiff and UCL universities.