Speaker Biographies
Andy Neale, Project Manager, Fleet Service GB
Andy Neale now works as a consultant having sold his Driver Risk Management & Wellbeing company, the NFE Group, to RED Training in 2020.
Andy left school at just 16 and spent 10 years in the Police; the last 6 in the Traffic Division on the newly opened M25! He then began his 30+ year training career, firstly, in the L driver market before moving on to deliver ‘fleet’ driver driving, driving events and latterly, wellbeing training. He has created and implemented ‘training programmes’ for multiple Companies, of all sizes and across many industries.
Having worked out that drivers make mistakes due to bad decisions, and not generally due to poor driving skills, Andy created a unique Driver Training style that works ‘with’ drivers to develop their decision-making ability and importantly, improves health & wellbeing across the areas of fatigue, hydration, nutrition, and stress management. This, in turn, reduces incidents and driving related costs by improving an individual’s ability to perform.
Whilst now being semi-retired Andy is still passionate about improving the performance and wellbeing of individuals, which of course, then benefits the Company.
As well as working with clients in a consultancy role, Andy still delivers workshops at the ‘coalface’ and speaks at conferences and events. He is also enjoying life in Cornwall and Florida!
Charlotte Hunt, Associate - Regulatory & Corporate Defence Team, Birketts LLP
Charlotte Hunt is an Associate in the Regulatory and Corporate Defence Team. Charlotte’s key clients are within the transport and logistics sector within which she advises and represents clients of their transport regulatory obligations and operator licenses. Charlotte has built experience in advising operators, transport managers and drivers. She has a specialism in road transport regulation, operator licensing and prosecutions brought by the DVSA, regularly appearing before Traffic Commissioners across the country at Public Inquiries, Driver Conduct Hearings and Preliminary Hearings. Charlotte advises operators and drivers following major incidents involving fatalities or serious injury and has experience of advising companies faced with a number of health and safety offences, regularly represents clients at the Magistrates Court, Crown Court and Police Station.
Julie Gowland, Partner - Regulatory & Coporate Defence Team, Birketts LLP
Julie Gowland is a Partner and Head of Licensing within the Regulatory and Corporate Defence Team. Julie was first called to the Bar 2002, then went on to qualify as a Solicitor in April 2006. Since then she has dealt with all aspects of criminal law and has extensive experience of dealing with Prosecutions from a number of regulatory bodies including the Health and Safety Executive, Environment Agency and Trading Standards amongst others. She regularly acts for clients on a range of complex health and safety matters including advising on HSE investigations, inquests and prosecutions following serious and fatal accidents. Julie regularly provides training to a number of corporate bodies in relation to health and safety law and responsibilities, and conducts accident investigations following serious and fatal accidents. She is recommended and named as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ by Legal 500 [UK 2024] for Health and Safety.
Andrew Drewary, Road Risk Consultant, Managing Director, Road Safety Smart
Andrew Drewary is a multi-award-winning road safety specialist in collision/incident investigation and has managed the investigation and analysis process for around 45,000 road traffic collisions and incidents over the last 24 years.
He has provided bespoke, innovative and interactive evidenced based fleet safety solutions through data analysis, innovative driver and management training and collaboration with clients. Supporting management teams and employees to influence positive culture change resulting in substantial financial savings, improved driver health and wellbeing and robust policy management. Thereby reducing exposure to risk, collisions and road fatalities.
Andrew is a previous Chair of the award winning CILT National Transport & Logistics Safety forum, as well as a member and active supporter of Brake the road safety charity and its Global Fleet Champions Committee, as well as Road Peace. He is also an experienced road safety trainer as well as a regular speaker at industry conferences, exhibitions and private industry events.
Richard Parker, Webfleet EV Consultant, Bridgestone Mobility Solutions
With over 23 years of experience in fleet management, Richard Parker, EV Consultant for Webfleet has been at the forefront of driving decarbonisation in fleet.
Richard is instrumental in supporting fleets to decarbonise their operations through his role at Webfleet. His passion, ambition, and long-term commitment have enabled him to remove barriers for customers and facilitated the growth of a connected partner ecosystem to support businesses in their decarbonisation journey. Richard's active involvement in launching the world’s first EV services platform in collaboration with industry-leading partners showcases his innovative approach to accelerating fleet electrification based on data.
Richard's leadership in decarbonising fleet operations is evident through his extensive industry experience and expertise. He has actively supported and shared his knowledge to help businesses decarbonise their fleets, driving forward the adoption of zero-emission transport solutions. His role as EV Consultant at Webfleet emphasises his commitment to supporting fleets in the transition to Electric Vehicles, which has garnered industry recognition with organisations such as GreenFleet where he was recently listed in the top 100 most influential persons in the decarbonisation field.
Catherine Bowen, Senior Policy Advisor, BVRLA
Catherine joined the BVRLA as Senior Policy Advisor in 2019. She leads the Association’s work on Decarbonisation and Future Mobility, with a keen focus on EV charging infrastructure and how we best support the transition of commercial vehicles.
Catherine has worked in senior policy roles for over 17 years and has experience of working within private, public sector and not-for-profit organisations.
Prior to joining the BVRLA, she worked for the British Retail Consortium, where she held the post of Head of Crime and Security policy.
Richard Muirhead, Director of Commercial Services, West Mercia Police
Richard is the Director of Commercial Services for West Mercia Police, the fourth largest force by area in England and Wales. As a member of the Chief Officer team he has responsibility for Digital Services, Change, Finance, Procurement and Legal Services. He is the national lead for the transition to zero emission vehicles working to the National Police Chiefs Council’s Sustainability Board.
He has previously worked in senior roles in North Wales Police, Cheshire Police and Cumbria Constabulary as well as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. He is married with four grown up boys, ideal for a five a side team!
Colin James, General Manager - Compliance & Risk, DPD Group
Colin James is the General Manager for Compliance & Risk at DPD UK Ltd. Colin has worked in the industry for over 30 years, primarily in the parcels sector. His career started as a HGV technician, before he decided on a career change and enrolled full time at university to attain a degree in Business Studies.
He currently heads the fleet legal compliance team, establishing DPD as a founder member of the DVSA Earned Recognition scheme and constantly seeks to innovate and improve systems and processes to further improve levels of compliance within the business. Colin is also a member of the Logistics UK Van Policy Working Group and the West Midlands Freight Council, which he has been a member of for over 10 years.
Andy Hill, Commercial Vehicle Manager, Lex Autolease
Andy has 37 years of experience in the commercial vehicle arena, with the last 23 years in the leasing industry.
Adopting a consultative approach Andy likes to get under the skin of his customers and their businesses, understanding their challenges, needs and aspirations connected to the commercial vehicle fleet. This approach and attention to detail has helped bring innovation, efficiencies and improvements to fleets across many different industry sectors such retail, construction, facilities management, rail, passenger transport and emergency services to name just a few.
Always with an eye on health & safety, new developments, technologies and legislation Andy will ensure that any solutions he delivers are modern, safe, legally compliant, fit for purpose and as far as possible future proof to all known upcoming legislation.
Well know and highly respected in the LCV industry, Andy sits on the influential BVRLA Commercial Vehicle Committee and plays an active role in the Logistics UK Van Excellence Scheme.
Denise Beedell, Senior Policy Manager, Logistics UK
Denise helps to deliver Logistic UK’s urban and environmental logistics policy agenda, in particular, proactively leading Logistics UK’s policy work on vans, including publications, information services and discussion forums in connection with policy and regulatory issues. Denise joined Logistics UK in August 2018 from the Federation of Small Businesses, where she was Development Manager for Greater London and led on Transport, Environment and Crime policy issues in the capital.
Dan Crutchington, Senior Transport Manager, MAC, Logistics UK
Daniel Crutchington’s career began in a tachograph checking role, and since finishing university has had various roles in an FMCG operation, before becoming Transport Manager of a large two-man home delivery operation. Dan joined Logistics UK in February 2020 as a Senior Transport Advisor and is currently the secretary for the Utilities Services Working Group, being heavily involved in light commercial vehicles with excellent technical and systems knowledge. One of the most enjoyable aspects is being able to discuss a variety of topics every day and share information with people.
Edward Jones, Head of Environmental Policy, Logistics UK
Edward is the Head of Environment Policy at Logistics UK, with a remit covering all net zero and decarbonisation priorities for the logistics sector. He has previously worked in energy policy and energy infrastructure funding.
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