Louise Haining has been appointed managing director of Connect Plus Services.
A chartered civil engineer, Haining has been a director of Connect Plus Services since 2017. She is credited with having introduced the digital twin of the M25 in 2020, which created geo-referenced 2D and 3D outputs, providing more than 23 billion data points in the process.
She began her career more than 30 years ago with Costain and has subsequently worked for the Environment Agency, Highways Agency and Colas.
Connect Plus Services is the operating arm of Connect Plus, which is a consortium of Balfour Beatty, Edge Orbital Holdings and Egis Investments Partners. Connect Plus has a 30-year contract with National Highways through a private finance initiative, which runs to 2039.
Louise Haining said: “I am delighted to take the helm as managing director of Connect Plus Services, leading an incredibly talented team on the M25 – one the UK’s busiest motorways.
“My focus will remain on data as a strategic imperative to prioritise decision making so that we keep the M25 safe and fit for purpose, whilst also continuing to identify ways of reducing delays and improving journey time reliability for the travelling public.”
Phil Clifton, managing director of Balfour Beatty’s Highways business, added: “Louise has worked with us for many years and has demonstrated time and again, the leadership qualities she possesses. I look forward to seeing her flourish in her new role as managing director and seeing her wealth of knowledge and expertise drive our asset management capability to deliver value through more predictable and safer journeys.”
