Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

David Hartmann Higgins (born 1954) is an Australian-British

businessman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for th ...

, the Chairman of United Utilities Group (since 1 January 2020),

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

(since 1 January 2017), and the former Non-Executive Chairman of High Speed Two (HS2) (March 2014 to July 2018). He was

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Delivery Authority and

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

Career

Higgins was educated at

Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Saint Ignatius' College Riverview is an Australian independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, conducted in the Jesuit tradition, located in Riverview, a small suburb located on the Lane Cove River on the ...

, then gained a degree in

Civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, residing at St John's College; and a diploma at the Securities Institute of Australia. After graduation, he worked in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, before returning to Australia in 1983, and joining the international property and construction company

Lendlease Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate company that creates and invests in communities, workplaces, retail, and infrastructure projects, headquartered in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. History Founding The company was establ ...

in 1985. In 1995 he was appointed managing director and chief executive, when Lendlease's developments included the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...

, and the

Bluewater Shopping Centre Bluewater Shopping Centre (commonly referred to as Bluewater) is an out-of-town shopping centre in Stone (postally Greenhithe), Kent, England, outside the M25 motorway, east south east of London's centre. Opened on 16 March 1999 in a former chal ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England. From March 2003, Higgins was Chief Executive of

English Partnerships English Partnerships (EP) was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by regional development agencies on a regional level. On 1 December 2008 its powers passed to a successor ...

. Higgins was appointed Chief Executive Designate of the

Olympic Delivery Authority The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) was a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, responsible for ensuring the delivery of venues, infrastructure and legacy for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games ...

from December 2005, and appointed Chief Executive with effect from 30 March 2006. In this role he was paid £394,999 a year, making him the highest paid

Quango A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where NG ...

boss in the UK. On 28 September 2010, it was announced that he was leaving the Olympic Delivery Authority to take up the role of chief executive of

, taking over from outgoing chief executive

Iain Coucher Iain Michael Coucher (born 22 August 1961) is the serving Chief Executive of the Atomic Weapons Establishment. He has worked as a consultant in the railway industry and held a number of management posts, most notably serving as the Chief Execu ...

, and with effect from February 2011. Higgins was widely respected for his work at Network Rail, including by the railway trade unions; he was succeeded as chief executive by

Mark Carne Mark Carne is a British businessman who served as executive vice-president for Shell in the Middle East and North Africa and was chief executive of Network Rail. Early life and education Carne was born in Helensburgh, Scotland. He holds a BS ...

in April 2014. In 2014, Higgins took over as

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

HS2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...

Ltd from

Douglas Oakervee Sir Douglas Edwin Oakervee FHKIE (born December 1940) is a British civil engineer who is a past chairman of both High Speed 2 and Crossrail, and was the 139th president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was awarded the CBE in 2010 for hi ...

. At HS2, he successfully oversaw the introduction and subsequent passing of the 400-page London-Birmingham High Speed Rail

hybrid bill In the United Kingdom a hybrid bill (which becomes a hybrid instrument or Hybrid Act) is a government measure which affects a particular individual or organisation in a different manner to other individuals or companies in the same class; it thus b ...

enabling the compulsory purchase and land acquisition for securing the chosen alignment. As of 2015, Higgins was paid a salary of between £240,000 and £244,999 by the department, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time. Higgins stood down from HS2 in 2018. In 2017, Higgins took over from

Roy McNulty Sir Robert William Roy McNulty, CBE (born 7 November 1937) is a Northern Irish-born businessman. The son of Jack and Nancy McNulty, he was educated at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh and Trinity College Dublin. McNulty was ...

as chairman of

Limited. In 2020, he succeeded Dr John McAdam as chairman of United Utilities Group and also stood down from his role as a

non-executive director A non-executive director (abbreviated to non-exec, NED or NXD), independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation, such as a company, cooperative or non-government organization, but not a member of the ...

at the

Commonwealth Bank of Australia The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services including retail, busine ...

, a role he had held since September 2014.

Personal life

Higgins is married with two children. His hobbies include

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

and outdoor pursuits.

Miscellanea

He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to regeneration. In 2012, Higgins was the chair of the 2012

British Construction Industry Awards The British Construction Industry Awards (BCI Awards or BCIA) were launched by '' New Civil Engineer'' magazine and Thomas Telford Ltd in 1998, at the time both owned by the Institution of Civil Engineers. The awards seek to recognise outstanding ...

judging panel which celebrated its 25th anniversary of rewarding excellence in UK construction delivery.

References

External links

Biography
at the ODA Senior Team {{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, David 1954 births Living people Businesspeople from Brisbane High Speed 2 University of Sydney alumni Australian engineers Australian chief executives British rail transport chief executives British chief executives Australian Knights Bachelor People educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Date of birth missing (living people) Lendlease