Global sustainable development consultancy Arup has announced the appointment of David Hughes as Major Programmes Director, with a focus on supporting and accelerating the firm’s delivery of significant national infrastructure and strategic change programmes.

Based at Arup’s headquarters in London, David takes on a UK and international role, focused on clients across energy, transport and the broader built environment.

A recognised leader of complex major public sector programmes, David joins Arup from the Department for Transport (DfT) where he was accountable for leadership and oversight of DfT's portfolio of major rail investment projects.

As Director of Investment Delivery Planning at Transport for London, David held senior leadership roles on projects including Crossrail, the Northern Line Extension, and the Tube upgrades. He spent his early career at the Ministry of Defence, BBC, and Deloitte.

“Effective delivery and performance of major infrastructure in the public and private sector is key to us delivering on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and creating equality of opportunity globally,” commented Rob Jones, Advisory Services Leader for Arup in the UK, India, Middle East and Africa.

“David brings outstanding experience of enabling the largest capital projects and delivering significant public capital investment in a complex political environment. His appointment builds on our existing capability in this area and his expertise will enable us to further support and drive major priority programmes with clients across energy, transport and the broader built environment globally.”