Leadership

Chris Fowler

Managing Director

Chris joined GTS in April 2025 and his experience spans both private and public sectors. Chris previously was the Network Operations and Performance Director at Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and Network Rail Sussex, where he was responsible for performance on one of the UK’s largest and most complex rail operations and the heaviest-used NR Route.

Chris has also worked as interim Managing Director for GTR’s Southern Railway and Gatwick Express, as well as Customer Services Director at Southern Railway.

Chris Peaker

Finance & Commercial Director

Chris started his career, though, with Transport for London, where he began on the graduate scheme and then did a range of roles including Station Supervisor, Network Incident Response Manager and Train Operations Manager.

Chris is a chartered accountant and experienced rail finance and commercial professional, with a strong background in concession management and strategic leadership.

He played a pivotal role in the creation of GTS, having been involved in the bid from the very beginning.

Prior to becoming the Mobilisation Director for GTS, Chris served as the Managing Director – Rail Strategy and Performance at Go-Ahead.

Throughout his career, he has advised major rail and bus operators on finance and restructuring, and has taken on key leadership roles across Go-Ahead’s GTR franchise and international rail operations.

Jennifer Beston

Concession Delivery Director

Jennifer has very broad experience across the Rail industry from leading infrastructure delivery and change teams, to overseeing improvements in train performance, and creating strategic business plans for funding.

Her experience has been across both Network Rail and Southeastern. At the heart of all her roles, it has been about leading people to deliver a safe, high performing and efficient railway through collaboration and building trust.

Being a senior woman in rail, Jennifer is passionate about sharing the benefits of working in the industry, and increasing the inclusion both for those who work within it and our customers who depend on our services.

Paul Parsons

Customer Experience Director

Paul joined Elizabeth line in January 2015 as Customer Experience Director following a highly successful career in the retail industry where he led numerous major customer service transformations.

Paul has utilised his extensive experience to help position the Elizabeth line as a world-class customer service provider.

Within months of opening, the Elizabeth line was recognised for its industry-leading customer satisfaction results, setting the bar for customer service in the UK rail industry.

Vanessa Russell

People Director

Vanessa has an extensive career in HR and people management, and has experience in different sectors such as bus, rail, and cyber security.

She leads a multi-functional team that delivers across all disciplines of the people function from HR and training, to communications and engagement.

As People Director, Vanessa will shape the strategy for everything to do with our people. She will make sure our values, ways of working and culture support both our business goals and the wellbeing of every colleague.

Laura McEwen

Train Service Director

Laura joined GTS as Train Service Director, bringing over 20 years of experience in rail operations and performance.

She began her career with Thames Trains before joining the Go-Ahead graduate programme, going on to hold senior roles at GTR and Southern in performance, station, and operations management.

Laura later led operations strategy at London Overground, including the introduction of Night Overground and new trains, before spending six years at c2c as Delivery Director and then Operations and Engineering Director.