top of page
#countdown to
International Railway Safety Council 2024
17 - 21 September 2024
hosted by
The world's largest conference on railway safety
Faces of the conference
First confirmed speakers. Updated on an ongoing basis.
Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, AT
Leonore GEWESSLER
Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology
Andreas Matthä has a civil engineering degree a diploma of business management from the Vienna University of Applied Sciences. He has worked at the ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) from 1982 in various positions starting as as responsible for bridge construction and civil engineering. In 2005, he became head of the Controlling and Finance division of ÖBB-Infrastruktur Bau AG, where he was Spokesman of the Management Board in 2008 and 2009. From 2008, he served as Chief Operating Officer of ÖBB-Infrastruktur Bau AG, and from 2009 as Chief Operating Officer for Finance, Market, Service. In 2016 he was finally appointed by the supervisory board as CEO and he has also been Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG, Rail Cargo Austria AG and European Contract Logistics-Austria GmbH. In December 2020 and 2023 he was reappointed as ÖBB CEO. Since 2019 Andreas Matthä acts as President of the Austrian Society of Transport Science (ÖVG). He is President of the Community of European Railways (CER) since February 2020.
Andreas MATTHÄ
CEO of Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB)
to be confirmed
Representative of European Commission
Ali is a highly experienced health and safety director with over 35 years of international leadership, managing large multidisciplinary teams in engineering, railway networks, and transportation consulting. He has an in-depth knowledge of risk management, corporate governance, health and safety management systems and cost-effective, and whole-life asset management. His experience includes 14 years’ international experience outside the UK, in the Middle East, and Europe regions as well as in north America. Ali is the Director of Quality, Health, Safety and Environment at Eurotunnel. Previously he was the Director of System Safety & Health, Rail Safety and Standards Board (2019 - 2024). He also Chaired the UIC's Safety Platform. Ali is a Chartered Engineer, and is BEng, MBA and MSc qualified.
Ali CHEGINI
Director Eurotunnel, UK
Ann Mills is the Deputy Director for RSSBs System Safety and Health Directorate. The directorate brings together rail technical specialists, risk and safety and human factors specialist to delivery the Rail Industries Health and Safety Strategy.
Ann is a safety professional of over thirty years’ experience, mostly rail related. She joined RSSB in 2000 as a Human Factors Specialist, before moving to lead the HF department which she built up to a total of 14 professionals with an international reputation. She spent the early part of her career at Cranfield University as a researcher undertaking aviation safety research for the UK and American Aviation Authorities and Shell.
Ann’s academic background is in Psychology (BA from Coventry) and Applied Psychology (MSc and PhD from Cranfield).
Ann MILLS
Deputy Director System Safety & Health, RSSB, UK
Ansgar Brockmeyer is a German citizen. He studied electrical engineering and obtained his doctorate in engineering from RWTH Aachen University in 1997. From 1997 to 2013 he held various positions at what was then Siemens Verkehrstechnik (now Siemens Mobility), most recently as CEO of Business United High-Speed and Commuter Rail in Krefeld (Germany). In 2013 Brockmeyer moved to Knorr-Bremse, where he served as Chairman of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse Asia Pacific (Holding) Ltd. in Hong Kong until December 2018. Since February 2019, Brockmeyer joined Stadler and has been appointed May 14th 2019, as a member of Stadler Group Executive Board in the role as Executive Vice President Marketing and Sales.
He brings with him not only extensive technical knowledge of rail vehicles, but also a great enthusiasm
for trains and locomotives. This benefits him and above all his students in his position as an adjunct professor for «Electrical Railway Traction Drives» at the Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives at RWTH Aachen University of Technology. Ansgar Brockmeyer is married and has two children.
Ansgar BROCKMEYER
Executive Vice President Marketing and Sale Stadler Group, CH
Head of Safety & Operations - European Union Agency for Railways, FR
Bart ACCOU
Head of Safety & Operations - European Union Agency for Railways, FR
Since January 1, 2024, Bettina Castillo has been Rail Cargo Austria´s board member. Castillo, who holds a doctorate in business administration, has 15 years of professional experience in logistics and supply chain management and was most recently Head of Global Supply Operation Management and thus responsible for the development and optimization of goods flows at IKEA (worldwide overall logistics). Born in Salzburg, she started her professional career in science, first at the Institute for Production and Logistics Management at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, then at the Kühne Institute for Logistics Management at the University of St. Gallen in research and teaching on logistics network planning, supply chain management and combined transport. From 2009 to 2015, she held various management positions at SBB Cargo and SBB Cargo International, most recently as a member of the management board and safety manager for transportation in Europe.
Bettina CASTILLO
Member of the Management Board of Rail Cargo Austria AG, AT
Chanwoo Park received Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Kyunghee Univ. in 2002. He entered KRRI in 2004 and is working as a manager and a chief researcher in System Safety Research Department. He also played a role as the professor of Kyunghee Unv.. He takes part in performing several National R&D projects as follows; UIC Asia project on the layout of drivers’ cab in Asian rail vehicle(funded by UIC, in '13) Development of Ergonomic Evaluation Technology for Improvement of Work Environment of Locomotive Cabs(funded by KRRI, in '11-'13), Establishment of Risk Analysis and Assessment System for Railway Accidents and Hazards (funded by MOCT, in '05-'11), Development of Performance Test and Safety System for High-Speed Rail System (funded by MOCT, in '02-'07).
Chan-Woo PARK
Korea Railroad Research Institute
Charlotte Kaul is a Senior Human Factors Consultant at Systra UK and a member of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF). Charlotte has worked in the rail industry undertaking HF projects for eight years. In this time, she has gained experience across passenger and freight operations, infrastructure projects, and construction. Charlotte has delivered projects across a variety of domains, such as electrical control room design, safety culture and organisational change, competence development, and incident analysis.
Charlotte KAUL
Senior Human Factors Consultant Systra, UK
Division Manager Railway Systems, ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, AT
Christian SAGMEISTER
Division Manager Railway Systems, ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, AT
Global Head of Business Resilience Centre of Excellence MAERSK
Christian THYGESEN
Global Head of Business Resilience Centre of Excellence MAERSK
DI Christoph Schwald
is Executive Vice President for Research, Development and Innovation at the TÜV AUSTRIA Group. Many years of international industry experience with stations in the USA and East Asia, among others. Focus in recent years on research into new methods and development of systems for early damage detection and monitoring of building and industrial structures in combination of scientific engineering methods with data analytics and machine learning, as well as novel approaches to assessing the functional trustworthiness of AI systems. Various developments have been patented and received awards.
Christoph SCHWALD
Executive Vice President Research, Development & Innovation - TÜV Austria, TV
Head of R&D Mobility Division, Technology & Innovation Siemens Mobility GmbH, DE
Claus BAHLMANN
Head of R&D Mobility Division, Technology & Innovation Siemens Mobility GmbH, DE
Constanze Bannholzer comes from Vienna. Since 2021 she has been working in ÖBB Holding as project manager for digital automatic coupling (DAC). After completing her bachelor studies at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, she studied environmental and bioresource management with a focus on transportation and mobility. After she devoted herself to representing the interests of the public sector at an association, she dealt with the rail sector in the intermodal area. Because of her passion for the international environment, she moved to work at UIC in Paris as Senior Freight Advisor. At UIC Constanze was working as project manager for European projects (e.g. Translate4Rail cross-border langue) and responsible for the management of working groups dealing with combined transport and quality. Constanze is a rail enthusiast business economist with a strong belief in sustainable development through the potential of the rail system, which can still be exploited.
Constanze BANNHOLZER
Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) Program Manager ÖBB, AT
Mr Budhram started his career in railway engineering and track maintenance servicing the TFR network from a central technical office function (track design and maintenance); he became a track specialists across all rail line classifications before he joined the Coal Line as a Depot Engineer, responsible for maintenance of the Richards Bay Depot (450km route) across all railway infrastructure disciplines (track, electrical, train authorisation, telecommunication) where he realised a 74% improvement in corridor availability year on year (2013/2014); he joined the Capital Planning department in the Office of the CEO where he led several technical functions in strategic rail growth initiatives; he was then appointed as Program Manager in TFR’s Capital Program where he was responsible for the infrastructure capital execution programs on the Iron Ore Line, all GFB expansion works, and Technology Rollout programs; Mr Budhram progressed to fulfil the Project Director role in an acting capacity in Capital Program responsible for the execution of 3 infrastructure programs nationally; he then managed the Track Technology department responsible for track material specification, testing and qualification including co-authoring the Manual for Track Maintenance revision. Mr Budhram is currently the Head of Research and Technical Skills Development at the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) in South Africa.
Mr Budhram hold a BSc (Civil Engineering) degree from University of KwaZuluNatal (Durban), MEng (Maters Engineering Management) from University of Pretoria, BSc (Railway Operations Management) from Glasgow Caledonian University, MSc (Railway Operations Management) from Glasgow Caledonian University. He is a Professional Engineer (Pr Eng) and a Project Management Professional (PMP).
Deepak BUDHRAM
Head of Research and Technical Skills Development, Railway Safety Regulator, ZA
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, AT
Dietmar ZIERL
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, AT
Head of Mainland Rail Regulator China EMSD, CN
Dongbin FEI
Head of Mainland Rail Regulator China EMSD, CN
Enno Wiebe has been acting as Director General of the Brussels-based European Rail Supply Industry Association (UNIFE) since 1 June 2024.Prior to being appointed, Enno Wiebe was the Technical Director of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) preceded by a career in the railway operating community both at international (UIC) and national (Deutsche Bahn) level. At CER, he supervised the work of the technical domain (safety and interoperability) and managed the association’s role as a representative body vis-à-vis the European Commission and the European Union Agency for Railways. Enno Wiebe started his engineering career at Deutsche Bahn in Germany after he studied civil engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Dresden (Germany) and at the University of Cape Town (South Africa).
Enno WIEBE
Director General UNIFE, BE
General Director of Security, Processes and Corporate Systems ADIF, ES
Esther MATEO
General Director of Security, Processes and Corporate Systems ADIF, ES
Evelyne Binsack is a Swiss mountaineer, mental trainer, and bestselling author. Known for her solo Everest climb and a 484-day expedition to the South Pole, she has reached all three poles. Binsack also speaks on leadership and mental resilience, and her books include “Schritte an der Grenze” and “Grenzgängerin.”
Evelyne BINSACK
Mountain Guide, Writer, Speaker, CH
Team Leader/Project Manager ILF Consulting Engineers, AT
Florian DIERNHOFER
Team Leader/Project Manager ILF Consulting Engineers, AT
Francisco Cabrera is M. Sc. Civil Engineer by the Polytechnical University of Madrid. He started to work in the Spanish Infrastructure Manager in 2007, in several positions. In May 2023 he joints UIC as Deputy Head of Operations and Safety, managing projects and working groups with a holistic perspective of railways. In particular, he is the project manager of the UIC's HIDROGEN RISKS project, which aim to provide a methodological approach for the risks analysis of hydrogen trains operation.
Francisco CABRERA
Deputy Head of Operations and Safety UIC, FR
François Davenne graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications d’Evry in 1988, and from the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) in 1999. Throughout his career, he has consistently promoted interdisciplinarity as a key factor for success and innovation. He has held various positions in the real estate financing and development sector, making use of his strong financial and legal skills.
Starting in 2009, he oversaw railway safety and regulation at the French Ministry of Transport, with an emphasis on European regulations. From 2013 to the end of 2018, he was Secretary General of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF), which brings together 51 member states. Since 2019, he has been Director General of the International Union of Railways (UIC).
Francois DAVENNE
Director General UIC, FR
Bridges Specialist, ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, AT
Franz FORSTLECHNER
Bridges Specialist, ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, AT
CEO Region North-East Europe Siemens Mobility, DE
Gerhard GREITER
CEO Region North-East Europe Siemens Mobility, DE
Gilles Peterhans studied finance and economics at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) in Switzerland. After graduating in 2001, he held various operational positions in the railway industry, most recently as Managing Director of a freight wagon hire company and a railway transport company. Since January 2013 he acts as Secretary General of the UIP - International Union of Wagon Keepers, the umbrella organisation of private wagon keepers based in Brussels. In this role, he represents the interests of the wagon keeper industry vis-à-vis European institutions and in various committees of the European Union.
Gilles PETERHANS
Secretary General UIP – International Union of Wagon Keepers, BE
Giorgio is heading the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking as Executive Director since his appointment in May 2024, and leading the organisation since March 2023 as ad interim and acting Executive Director. He has been responsible for the 1,2Bn€ Europe’s Rail R&I integrated Programme since 2021 as Head of Programme.
He has been supervising as head of R&I the 920M€ R&I Programme of Shift2Rail (S2R), since 2015.
Before, he was a Senior Corporate advisor at UNIFE, advising on strategic topics and preparing S2R. Since 2007, as Senior Technical Manager, he supervised several R&I projects, teams and technical committees. He was also secretary of ERRAC.
In 2006, he assisted Mr Paolo Costa, Chairman of Transport Committee of the European Parliament.
In 2004 he joined the EU environment, working for the European Chamber of Commerce association and the Valle d’Aosta Regional representation office.
Prior to that he had other international experiences with Procter & Gamble in Rome and with BNP Paribas Cardiff in Paris.
He holds an Engineering Degree (Polytechnic of Turin) and a Master Degree in Public Affairs (London South Bank University).
Giorgio TRAVAINI
Executive Director Europe’s Rail JU, BE
Dr. Grégory Rolina is programme manager at the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA). He has been leading the safety culture programme since 2017 and he is now responsible for implementing the ERA safety training portfolio and qualification schemes. He has a broad international experience working with safety culture and human and organisational factors in nuclear power plants and high-risk industries.
Gregory ROLINA
Program Manager European Union Agency for Railways, FR
DI Mag. Gudrun Senk (48) has been involved in climate protection, particularly in the energy and mobility sectors, for almost 20 years. The trained economist and engineer has a wealth of experience and many years of leadership experience in both the private sector and public administration (Kearney, VA Tech, KPC, Ministry of Economic Affairs). In 2009, she joined Wien Energie, where she built up the strategy department and the renewable energy sector, and most recently led the “Asset Development, Implementation, and Management” division. In 2020, she co-founded the Vienna Hydrogen Society and took over its management until 2022. Since November 2022, the manager, who grew up in the Waldviertel region, has been the technical managing director of Wiener Linien, responsible for vehicle technology as well as construction and facility management. She and her team of 3,300 employees maintain the vehicles, tracks, and buildings of Vienna’s public transport system, plan and build new line extensions such as the century project U2xU5 line intersection, decarbonize the bus fleet, and explore new ways to minimize Wiener Linien’s CO2 footprint.
Gudrun SENK
CTO Wiener Linien GmbH & Co KG, AT
Group Safety Project Manager SNCF, FR
Guillaume FOEILLET
Group Safety Project Manager SNCF, FR
Senior Engineer Railways EMSD, CN
H.S. KWOK
Senior Engineer Railways EMSD, CN
MTR Corporation, CN
H.W. CHAN
MTR Corporation, CN
Responsible Of International Affairs at EPSF (Etablissement public de sécurité ferroviaire), FR
Henri DUPUIS
Responsible Of International Affairs at EPSF (Etablissement public de sécurité ferroviaire), FR
Head of Sustainability R&D&I Projects, ADIF, ES
Ines VADILLO
Head of Sustainability R&D&I Projects, ADIF, ES
Jens Engelmann studied mechanical engineering/applied thermodynamics at RWTH Aachen University (doctoral thesis at Berlin Technical University). Between 1996 and 2011, he held various positions at Deutsche Bahn AG, the last being Head of Technology Strategy (DB Group). Jens has always been internationally active in UIC, CER, ERA, CEN etc. railway work groups. He also founded and managed the Joint Sector Group for the ERA Task Force post the Viareggio accident in 2009.
Between 2011 and 2018, Jens served as Head of Corporate Management & Evaluation Unit at the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), with special focus on preparing the Agency for its new tasks under the 4th Railway Package.
In 2018, Jens founded railiable GmbH, active in consultancy and predictive maintenance technology.
Since 2020, he also acts as the ‘European DAC Delivery Programme’ (EDDP) Co-Programme Manager for the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking.
Jens ENGELMANN
Founder railiable, DE
Jens Lindgren born 1981;
2005 – 2017 Train driver freight train including examiner of train drivers, Green Cargo
2017 – 2020 1st line Production manager freight train operations in northern Sweden, Green Cargo
2020 – 2023 Safety specialist freight train, Green Cargo
2023 – present Traffic safety manager freight train, Green Cargo
Jens LINDGREN
Green Cargo
Head of Train Control at Siemens Mobility GmbH, DE
Jens NORDMANN
Head of Train Control at Siemens Mobility GmbH, DE
Johann Pluy earned his doctorate in electrical engineering and started his career at ÖBB in 1997. After just a few years, he successfully reached a management position in the Power Plants division at ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG. In 2010, he became head of the Energy division, and in 2014 he was finally appointed authorized signatory and head of the Railway Systems division. From 2016, he acted as Managing Director of ÖBB-Business Center GmbH. Since 2019, Johann Pluy has been a member of the Management Board of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, responsible for Operations, Market and Digitalization as well as Corporate Development.
Johann PLUY
Member of the Management Board of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, AT
Josef DOPPELBAUER joined the Agency in January 2015. His mission is to further consolidate the role and responsibilities of the European Union Agency for Railways to become a world leader in railway safety.
Before leading the Agency, Josef DOPPELBAUER held managerial positions at Bombardier Transportation. Since the early 1990's, he has been involved with the development of the European Rail Transport Management System (ERTMS). From 2012 to 2014, he was chairman of the European Rail Research Advisory Committee (ERRAC), the European technology platform of the rail sector. From 2011 to 2014, he was also the chairman of the Steering Committee of the Joint Technology Initiative Shift2Rail.
Josef Doppelbauer holds a degree and a doctorate, both in Physics. He started his career at the Alcatel Research Centre in Vienna, Austria, where in 1997 he became Technical Director. In 2001, he moved to Paris to become Chief Technical Officer for Alcatel Transport Automation Solutions.
Josef DOPPELBAUER
Executive Director European Union Agency for Railways, FR
Member of the Management Board of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, AT
Judith ENGEL
Member of the Management Board of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, AT
Executive Director Mineta Transportation Institute, US
Karen PHILBRICK
Executive Director Mineta Transportation Institute, US
Karin Hesse born 1981;
M.Sc Analytical chemistry 2004
2004 – 2010 Analytical Chemist QC Pharmaceutical industry
2010 – 2018 Quality Assurance Pharmaceutical industry
2018 – 2020 Quality manager, freight train, Green Cargo
2020 – 2022 Manager of training center freight train, Green Cargo
2022 – present Safety & security director freight train, Green Cargo
Karin HESSE
Safety & security director freight train Green Cargo, SW
Kathrin HANZL
Moderation
East Japan Railway Union JREU, JP
Katsuyuki SASAKI
East Japan Railway Union JREU, JP
Klaus Garstenauer (1969), Member of the Executive Board of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG
Degrees in Business Administration by Vienna University of Economics and Business and Mechanical Engineering by Technical College Steyr.
Training as a train dispatcher at ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG.
1997-2006: Controlling and later head of marketing and sales at ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG
2006-2009: Senior sales roles at Hitachi Rail GTS Austria GmbH
2009-2019: head of the commuter and regional traffic at ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG.
Since 2019: Chief operations officer at ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG
Klaus GARSTENAUER
Member of the Management Board of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG, AT
Project Officer ERA, FR
Krzysztof ZUBILEWICZ
Project Officer ERA, FR
East Japan Railway Union JREU, JP
Makoto KATO
East Japan Railway Union JREU, JP
Manuela Waldner has a technical background in civil engineering and studied business administration at the University of Graz, Austria. She started her professional career in a civil engineering office, followed by an auditing and tax consulting firm. In 2009 she changed to Boston Consulting Group Austria, where she held various positions with a focus on the railway and industrial sectors; from 2019 in the role of Managing Director and Partner. In July 2023, she was appointed as Chief Financial Officer (Group CFO) and member of the Executive Board of ÖBB-Holding AG. She also serves as Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of the infrastructure division and the Business Competence Center of ÖBB.
Manuela WALDNER
CFO ÖBB-Holding AG, AT
Executive Vice President Division Signalling/CEO Stadler Signalling AG, CH
Marc TRIPPEL
Executive Vice President Division Signalling/CEO Stadler Signalling AG, CH
Mark Topal-Gökceli, a civil engineer, started his career at ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) in 2005 being responsible for the planning of rail infrastructure projects - amongst others the Vienna Central Station. Mark became head of the rail system technology department at ÖBB-Holding AG in 2015. As the company’s CTO he is now responsible for the strategic development of the ÖBB group with regard to safety, technology, operations and sustainability. His latest activities include the setting up of a new safety culture program in the ÖBB group, developing a new ÖBB technology strategy including a strategic focus on DAC (Digital Automatic Coupler) and shaping the company’s climate protection initiatives.
In addition, Mark is member of the Supervisory Boards of the ÖBB-Technical Services Gmbh and the ÖBB-Production GmbH. In Autumn 2020 he was nominated Programme Manager of the European DAC (Digital Automatic Coupling) Delivery Programme.
Mark TOPAL GOEKCELI
CTO ÖBB-Holding AG, AT
Matt Soule is the co-founder & CEO of Parallel Systems, a company developing autonomous, battery-electric rail vehicles to transform the freight industry. Parallel’s technology enables railroads to improve service quality and create more flexible terminals to convert more freight to rail. The system complements electric drayage trucks and allows shippers to realize zero emissions freight lanes. Parallel’s vehicles work alongside traditional trains and integrate with existing railroad infrastructure.
Matt has over 20 years of experience developing advanced technologies within established and regulated industries. Previously, he spent 13 years at SpaceX in various roles including Senior Director of Avionics where he led a department of 300 people in the design and testing of electronics for reusable launch vehicles and manned commercial spacecraft. Matt received a Master of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Northwestern University.
Matt SOULE
CEO Parallel Systems, US
Michael Luczensky is the head of the Railways Directorate of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK, formerly BMVIT).
His area of responsibility covers the legislative and agency agendas for transport by rail. The Railways Directorate is also responsible for the drafting and implementation of Union law and international agreements relating to railways, including representing these interests in the EU committees and other bilateral and multilateral committees.
Michael Luczensky was Deputy Head of Cabinet of former federal minister Jörg Leichtfried until November 2017, and held a variety of functions in the BMK (formerly BMVIT) before that.
Michael LUCZENSKY
Head of Directorate / Railways - Fed. Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, AT
CEO Siemens Mobility, DE
Michael PETER
CEO Siemens Mobility, DE
Dr. Michaela Schwarz currently works as safety culture and human factors expert at ÖBB Production. Her main responsibility is the assessment and development of human and organizational factors (HOF) for train drivers and train inspectors. Michaela holds a doctoral degree in organizational psychology with a specialization in safety- and just culture. She brings more than 20 years of experience from the aviation industry. Michaela very much enjoys sharing and transferring knowledge and practical skills across industries. She is a member of several international work groups related to rail safety culture and HOF including UIC Mind4Change project and the ERA HOF platform.
Michaela SCHWARZ
ÖBB-Produktion GmbH, AT
Executive Director - Rail/Public Transport at NTRO, AU
Natalie LOUGHBOROUGH
Executive Director - Rail/Public Transport at NTRO, AU
Engineer European Union Agency for Railways, FR
Nathalie DUQUENNE
Engineer European Union Agency for Railways, FR
Paolo Pagliero is the Vice President of Engineering for Wabtec Transit, a subsidiary of Wabtec Corporation. Wabtec is a leading provider of rail equipment, systems, digital solutions, and value-added services for both freight and transit rail industries.
In his role, he is responsible for overseeing the engineering department developing products and projects for the global railway transit market and the European freight market.
Born in Italy, Paolo holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin, one of the top engineering schools in Italy. He also earned a Master of Business Administration from Bocconi University in Milan.
In 2001, he starts his career with the SabWabco Company, which later became Faiveley and then Wabtec. With over ten years of experience in system engineering, he was appointed Director of Engineering for the Brake and Coupler business lines. In 2019, he was promoted to Vice President of Engineering for Wabtec.
Paolo PAGLIERO
Vice President of Transit Engineering Wabtec Corporation, IT
Doctor in automation and engineering of man machine systems, Stephen has been in the railway sector for nearly 20 years.
He joined the French safety authority in 2008 after a first experience for the main Parisian railway operator.
Previously in charge of the French occurrence reporting system project, he became lesson learning adviser in 2022.
He manage sharing experience process at national level but also international.
Paul LEACH
Head of Human Factors RSSB, UK
With over 35 years’ experience in rail (starting as a Junior Station Assistant in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney), Peter has worked in a range of positions covering all modes of rail – from suburban passenger networks, light rail operations, freight networks – as well as 12 months in Taiwan with the commissioning of the high-speed rail line in that country.
This career history has left Peter in a great position to be able to appreciate the perspectives from both sides of the regulatory fence when it comes to rail safety matters.
Peter’s practical operational experience is coupled with formal tertiary qualifications including a Bachelor of Economics, a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree specialising in Risk Management within the rail sector.
Peter DOGGET
COO ONRSR Rail Safety Regulator, AS
Dr. Peter Woditschka has a background in Electrical Engineering where he was working in Research and Development of high performance generators for windturbines and hydropower plants as well as safety systems for high speed trains before he became a strategy consultant who „brings engineers and managers together“ in critical business situations.His special focus is the transfer of know-how from the processes used in Airliners‘ multi-crew cockpits into other industries in order to enhance safety-culture, quality, efficiency and decision-making habits. He also teaches Controlling, Corporate Strategy, Innovation-Management and Electrical Aircraft Systems at the University FH Joanneum in Graz.His profile is rounded up by his part time occupation as an Airline pilot, currently flying the Airbus A320-series for Austrian Airlines / Lufthansa-Group.
Peter WODITSCHKA
Pilot Austrian Airlines, AT
Since beginning of his career working in the railway safety and interoperability domain, at various positions in Office of Rail Transport (UTK), Polish national safety authority, and Ministry of Infrastructure. From 2018 until 2020 Deputy Director of Technology and Products Department in UTK, responsible for authorisation of vehicles and fixed installations. From 2020 Deputy Director of Safety and Monitoring Department, responsible for certification of railway undertakings and entities in charge of maintenance, as well as monitoring of safety on Polish railways. In 2023 he joined the European Commission where he is responsible for safety aspects.
Piotr SIECZKOWSKI
Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport in the European Commission
Pilz Nederland
Robert ROMIJN
Pilz Nederland
Head of Level Crossings and Public Safety, Network Rail, UK
Robert WAINWRIGHT
Head of Level Crossings and Public Safety, Network Rail, UK
Policy Officer, European Commission, BE
Sandy ZAEHRINGER
Policy Officer, European Commission, BE
Mott MacDonald India P Ltd.
Saurabh MANGLIK
Mott MacDonald India P Ltd.
Sebastian Sperker has over 16 years of experience in the rail industry and is currently Head of Service Design at Rail Cargo Group, a role he has held since 2022. Previously, he spent eight years in Budapest as Managing Director of Rail Cargo Carrier Group, where he built an international network of railway undertakings across 12+ countries and led 1,200 employees in Central and Eastern Europe. He is passionate about digitalization, innovation and interoperability in international rail logistics. Sebastian holds a master’s degree in Economics and Transport and an MBA in Supply Chain Management.
Sebastian SPERKER
Head of Service Design Rail Cargo Austria AG, AT
Project Head Safety Platform, Siemens Mobility GmbH, DE
Sonja STEFFENS
Project Head Safety Platform, Siemens Mobility GmbH, DE
Stefan Bernsdorf is a Swiss citizen. He studied mechanical engineering and obtained his doctorate in engineering from ETH Zurich in 2005. From 2006 to 2014 he worked as project manager in the oil and gas industry, in Switzerland, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and most recently in Australia. In 2015 he took over the role as general manager of a start-up in renewable energy in Switzerland. Since May 2019, Bernsdorf joined Stadler as project manager. In this role he delivered new train sets to the world’s highest cog rail operator, and lead the project teams of Stadler’s first hydrogen powered FLIRT and ÖBB’s Service Jet. Stefan Bernsdorf is married and has one daughter.
Stefan BERNSDORF
Senior Project Manager, Stadler Bussnang AG, CH
Stefan Kirch is the Chief Commercial Officer at Nevomo, leading the commercialization of MagRail technology. He has co-founded initiatives in the railway sector, focusing on innovation and future-proofing rail systems. Stefan has held key roles in business development, sales, and product management at companies like Deutsche Bahn and Accenture. His expertise spans across rail infrastructure, digital business models, and strategic partnerships, with a strong emphasis on modernizing and transforming the railway industry.
Stefan KIRCH
CCO Nevomo, PL
Doctor in automation and engineering of man machine systems, Stephen has been in the railway sector for nearly 20 years.
He joined the French safety authority in 2008 after a first experience for the main Parisian railway operator.
Previously in charge of the French occurrence reporting system project, he became lesson learning adviser in 2022.
He manage sharing experience process at national level but also international.
Stephen QUEVA
National and International lesson learning adviser EPSF, FR
Dr. Susu Huang is an associate researcher in railway signalling and control systems at the China Academy of Railway Science, specializing in integrating cutting-edge technologies within the sector. She has extensive international industry experience, including serving as a visiting researcher at the University of Birmingham, UK, from 2018 to 2019. Her research focuses on train operation control systems based on vehicle-to-vehicle communication, virtual coupling technology, and enhancing connectivity between CTCS and CBTC systems. Susu Huang has made meaningful contributions to the field by integrating innovative methodologies into established frameworks, supporting advancements in industry practices.
Susu HUANG
Research associate China Academy of Railway Sciences Co. Ltd, CN
As Director of Safety and Maintenance Standards Division, Dr. Chandrangsu is responsible for the creation of Thai rail standards and regulations for rail operators, in order to raise safety levels and service quality to international levels. He also coordinates with other agencies in rail technology and research, to promote and strengthen the Thai rail industry. Areas of interest for Dr. Chandrangsu include railway crossing safety, railway regulations, railway management, as well as rail technology.
Tayakorn CHANDRANGSU
Director of Safety and Maintenance Standards Division Department of Rail Transport
Thom Koning is working in the safety field for 25+ years with a masters degree in Safety, Health & Environment.
After his maritime career, he worked for 10 years in the Dutch Safety Board, followed by a Vice President position inn QHSE at Heerema Marine Contractors.
In 2018 he founded his own company Mizzen Global, to serve clients aiming at operational excellence in safety and sustainability. Focus themes are incident investigation and safety culture. Recent clients are the European Maritime Safety Agency, KLM airlines, ProRail Netherlands and DMN-Westinghouse.
Thom is married with two children, loves reading, traveling and sail for leisure.
Thom KONING
Expert Investigating Safety Culture, NL
Biografie oder andere Informationen
Thomas MÜLLER
Criminal Psychologist Profiler, AT
The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) Chief Executive Officer, Tshepo Kgobe is a multidisciplinary engineer with more than 22 years of extensive experience in managing complex projects and operations with diverse technical requirements in infrastructure, energy and mining; predominantly in the railway environment. Tshepo Kgobe has been in the railway industry since the beginning of his career and although he went into consulting for a while, he ended up back in the railway sector: “You could say I have trains in my veins.”
Tshepo KGOBE
CEO Gautrain, ZA
Vera Hofbauer, born in Vienna, studied urban and regional planning at the Technical University of Vienna and the Universidad Politecnica in Madrid. She started her career at urban planning and spatial analysis agencies. Between 2004 and 2017 she worked for viadonau, the Austrian waterway operator, where she managed national and international project in the fields of inland waterway policy and built up the team knowledge management. In 2017, she joined the Federal Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology as head of the department “Shipping – Technology and Nautics”. Since 2022, she is head of Directorate General Transport at the Federal Ministry.
Vera HOFBAUER
Director General Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, AT
Manager of Human & Organisational Factors - Safety Culture UIC, FR
Virginie PAPILLAULT
Manager of Human & Organisational Factors - Safety Culture UIC, FR
Senior Technology Development Manager – Operations Systems, MTR Corporation, CN
Wai Pan TAM
Senior Technology Development Manager – Operations Systems, MTR Corporation, CN
Zoe has more than 25 years experiences in the design, construction, operations and maintenance of metro system. She is the General Manager - Operations Safety and Quality of the MTR Corporation leading the development and implementation of the integrated management system for the operating railway in Hong Kong. She has also been involved in the implementation of various efficiency improvement projects in Hong Kong and Australia by applying management tools and new technology such as condition-based monitoring in rail system, reliability centred maintenance analysis, railway system safety critical item review, etc.
Zoe TSE
General Manager - Operations Safety & Quality MTR Corporation, CN
bottom of page