Olivier ANDRE

Managing Consultant

+447917577971

Transformational Commercial Leader, Olivier, is an accomplished executive with almost 25 years of International Transport Industry experience, having held senior positions in technical, commercial and managerial roles in various disciplines of rail transport and telecommunication infrastructure. He has an unparalleled understanding of operations, technologies, investments and general trends across the market, with a focus on Rail. 

Olivier holds a Master’s Degree in Electromechanical Engineering from Liege University, Belgium. 

KEY ATTRIBUTES

• Driven and results focused with an impeccable track record, managing both the customers and the internal organisation to deliver value and business objectives.
• Particularly strong at taking a strategic perspective and identifying commercially attractive opportunities and solutions, whilst being aware of associated potential risks and challenges and turning the vision into reality.
• Skilled communicator, able to present technical and strategic proposals and solutions and negotiate complex commercial agreements at all levels for the benefit of all parties.
• Multi-Cultural experience through working with different Customers / Partners and managing teams in worldwide locations. Very much aware of local sensitivities and requirements in different countries.
• Experience in Private Equity owned businesses and also M&A activities, both selling and acquiring businesses.
• ‘Growth’ mind set and applies a commercial lens to business interactions, backed by both a solid industry knowledge and a broader level of business acumen.
• Creative and strong problem-solver, able to synthesise information quickly to form a view, able to see the big picture, and readily compile disparate information to generate new and creative ideas.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

RICARDO RAIL MANAGING DIRECTOR, UK CONSULTING (2018-2019)

• Direct responsibility for 3 business lines (Design&Engineering, Asset Management and Systems Engineering) with c.120 employees across 5 sites in the UK.
• Acted as main interface to the customer base, able to discuss problems, aspirations and potential solutions with customers, ranging from TOCs, ROSCOs, manufacturers and Network Rail.
• Acted as Project Director for a number of projects, notably several large modification and upgrade to Rolling Stock for clients.
• Developed the cyber security / digital resilience offering with the team. Presented the solutions to multiple clients, this gave us a good understanding of their aspirations and concerns related to the various Digital initiatives.
• Worked on several business and investment cases for clients based on Ricardo Products and services.
• Developed the inter-group Rail activity (working with Environmental, Strategic Consulting and Automotive divisions).
• Developed the working relationship with the NL Ricardo Rail Office.
• Opened up new service streams through targeted recruitment in Digital Railway, Asset Management and Intelligent Infrastructure.
• Increase market visibility in general but with a particular focus on Decarbonisation, working to the strengths of the wider group.
• Implementation of a Customer-centric culture with development of the bid management function, the management of the sales funnel and the implementation of an account management process.

 

PORTERBROOK LEASING – COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR (2015-2018)

• Define, direct, and lead a commercial and financial strategy that underpins the corporate strategy of the business.
• Lead and motivate the commercial team in order to generate profits, maintain/improve Customer satisfaction and be commercially creative to generate additional value from existing assets and relationships.
• Develop and secure new business and ensure that current assets are utilised for their expected economic lives.
• Deputise for the CEO to be the external face of the company towards customers, suppliers and other stakeholders, such as regulatory bodies and the Department for Transport, acting usually at CEO or Ministerial level.
• Built up several investments cases for Rolling Stock related projects for Board approval.
• Interfaced with all TOCs and the supply chain to develop digital solutions (largely based on connectivity to enable Reliability Centred Maintenance) to reduce the cost of maintenance and operations of the Porterbrook fleet.
• Worked with the fleet and projects team on the strategy for enabling ETCS on the Porterbrook assets.
• Worked with multiple (20+) franchise bid teams to understand their aspirations for the features required for the rolling stock included into their franchise bids. Quite frequently, these solutions would include upgrades either for Customers, Security or Operational reasons.
• Initiated a Customer-centric culture and built strong relationship with most executives from Train Operating Companies and Owning Groups.
• Good understanding and appreciation of the appetite of Private Finance/Equity for investments in Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

 

WORLDLINE UK&I – SALES DIRECTOR (2014-2015)

• Implemented a strict sales discipline to achieve challenging budget.
• Worked with the team to better align account managers with customers taking into account workload and personalities.
• Worked with customers on the definition of the mobile ticketing system meant to replace the Avantix system becoming obsolete.
• Worked with the team to offer “Integrale” – a connected software solution that enables fast Systems recovery after an incident, this is linked to a Traffic Management deployment. Secured the second deployment with GWR.

 

ALCATEL-LUCENT (Now Nokia) –VICE-PRESIDENT TRANSPORT MARKET (2008-2014)

• Global responsibility, worked on rail projects in Americas, Europe and Asia.
• Worked with worldwide customers on connectivity solutions, through private wireless networks or public networks to enhance their operations (UK, US, France, Japan).
• Worked with most major signalling companies on the next generation data bearer for ETCS, part of UIC working groups related to Rail Telecoms solutions and standards.
• Intimate understanding of the telecoms industry and the synergies between work carried out for mobile operators crossing over to what is labelled as Vertical Markets (Rail, Oil and Gas, Defence, Utilities).
• Authored several articles and thought leadership pieces on the subject on Rail connectivity.
• Presentations at numerous Transport conferences worldwide (Hong-Kong, France, Singapore, Italy, UK, Thailand, etc…).

 

THALES UK –UK BUSINESS DIRECTOR – TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS LINE (TELECOMS) (2005-2008)

• General Manager responsible for all UK activities of the global transportation business line.
• Turned around 2 major customers’ perception of Thales as a supplier following very poor Customer Survey results.
• Director responsible for the financial results of the TfL/LUL Connect PFI (Transmission network throughout LUL).
• Director responsible for all Telecom projects, including GSM-R coverage of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

 

INTERFLEET Technology – PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT – DERBY (2003-2005)

• Various assignment on technical due diligence and Organisational restructures.
• International business development with Account responsibility for Siemens, Hitachi, Alstom but also MTRC and various other international clients.

 

ALSTOM TRANSPORT – SITE ENGINEERING DIRECTOR – PRESTON – TRACTION EQUIPMENT (1996-2003)

• Various roles including Engineering Director for the Preston Site.
• Project Manager for a number of international new build but also refurbishment projects, mostly focused on traction equipment then Bids and Projects Director managing a 40 strong team of Project Managers and Bid Managers.
• Initially started at the Alstom Charleroi site, responsible for bids and projects for High Speed Train equipment designed and manufactured on site.

 

LANGUAGES

• French: Mother tongue
• English: Read, written and spoken fluently
• Spanish, Dutch: scholastic knowledge. Basic understanding