After nearly a decade in charge of the West Midlands transport authority Centro, chief executive Geoff Inskip has announced he will step down at the end of the year.
Inskip joined Centro in 2006 from Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE).
Highlights of his time in charge include securing a raft of high profile transformational schemes from central government, including New Street Station, the Wolverhampton and Stourbridge interchanges, a new fleet of class 172 trains, the Swift smartcard and the Metro extensions programme.
Inskip said: 'Not only has Centro delivered improved public transport services for passengers but also more recently, with the onset of HS2, we are already on course to deliver major extensions to the Midland Metro tram system and the Sprint rapid transit programme, to ensure we have the necessary local connections into HS2.
'With the transition of Centro into the new Combined Authority structure the region is in a strong position to take forward its strategic transport plans to deliver even more for passengers with better bus services through the new alliance with operators, extensions to the Metro, the delivery of a Sprint network and the continued roll-out of the Swift card and smart travel information.'
Cllr Roger Lawrence, chair of the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority (WMITA), said Inskip had 'demonstrated an impressive track record of delivering major transport regeneration and passenger service improvements across the West Midlands'.
A qualified chartered accountant, Inskip began working as a management consultant before joining a merchant bank in Manchester.
In the late 80s GMPTE invited him to look at the private sector options for delivering Manchester's Metrolink tram system under a public private partnership, before making him director of finance.
In 1996 he became project director for Phase 2 of Metrolink, and was appointed deputy director general of GMPTE in 1999 with special responsibility for Phase 3 of Metrolink.
