Speaker biographies
Jackie Butterfield, Lead Application Engineer, L B Foster Rail Technologies
Jackie is a Lead Applications Engineer for LB Foster Rail Technologies based in Sheffield, UK
specialising in Friction Management solutions for both on-board and trackside applications.
Jackie is a materials engineer and holds a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Metallurgy from the
University of Sheffield. Jackie started her career in the steel industry spending 12 years as a process
metallurgist before moving on to roles with the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, as well as technical sales and commercial roles in Steel Wire Ropes, Railway Switches and Crossings and Ferrous Foundries and joined LB Foster in May 2019.
Jackie sits on the CEN T/C Working Group 38 responsible for developing the EN15427 series of
standards for Friction Management and is a member of several rail industry technical interest groups in the UK.
Simon Lomax, Principal Investigator, RAIB (Railway Accident Investigation Branch)
Simon Lomax joined British Rail in 1989 from university. He worked in a variety of roles before joining Porterbrook Leasing in 1996. In 2014, he joined the Rail Accident Investigation Branch as an Inspector, working on a number of major investigations including Carmont and Salisbury. In 2022, he was promoted to Principal Inspector, and now manages a small team of Inspectors. He is a chartered mechanical engineer and a Fellow of the IMechE.
Damon Thomas, CEO, SENSEi IOT
Damon is CEO of SENSEi IoT, a specialist IoT solutions provider and development house providing best in breed IoT PaaS and SaaS solutions to business, enterprise and public sector customers.
Having been at the forefront of IoT development in the UK the past 9 years, Damon is recognised as a visionary, who combines valuable thought leadership with extensive hands-on knowledge and an ability to inform, shape and help clients execute successful digital transformation strategies across different sectors.
Damon has worked closely with the rail sector since 2020, architecting ‘first-of-a-kind- propositions such as the CONTX Digital Wagon in response to identified challenges.
Paul Gray, Professional Lead - Engineering Research and Development, RSSB (Railway Safety Standards Board)
Paul has worked in the rail industry for over 30 years. Starting in track maintenance and renewals on the West Coast Mainline he became Track Engineer and Depot Manager. He then joined RSSB in the role of Track Engineer and was responsible for a range of developments in infrastructure related standards. During this time he achieved Chartered Civil Engineer status. His current role in RSSB is Professional Lead for Engineering Research where he leads on the initiation, progression and implementation of a range of engineering research projects, working with specialist suppliers and academia, covering a host of subject areas such as low adhesion management, wheel/rail interface, gauging and traction energy interfaces.
Senior Representative, ELPA
Biography and photo coming shortly.
Pinar Yilmazer, Sustainability Programme Senior Advisor, UIC
Biography and photo coming shortly.
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Mick Milhinch, Business Development Manager, Knorr-Bremse
Biography coming shortly.
Ben White, Co-founder, Rivelin Rail
Ben did completed his PhD at The University of Sheffield. This was sponsored by the Rail Safety and Standards Board looking into the causes of low friction and he subsequently worked as a Research Fellow, with industrial partners, on friction management related projects. Ben co-founded Rivelin Rail to provide a more informed, data driven approach to friction management, through widespread adoption of friction measurements.