Ben RICKETTS
Derby
Summary
As a result of my 24 years’ experience in Engineering, Project Management, Leadership roles. I have strong foundation in end-to-end development and delivery of complex Engineering rail and aerospace products. My passions are product management, leadership, organisational design, commercial (including customer and supplier facing) and people management. I particularly enjoy working across functions at senior management levels to deliver bids, projects, transformation initiatives within quality, cost, and delivery targets to ensure we beat the competition.
Results-driven, ambitious and competitive business leader focused on transformative leadership and continuous improvement to drive growth and maximise profits. Tenacious executive ready to take on challenging role, meet goals and surpass expectations.
Overview
2025
2025
years of professional experience
2
2
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work history
Class 378 Electrostar - Vehicle Engineer
Bombardier
Denby, Derbyshire
Gautrain - Weights Eng and Project Planner
Bombardier
Victoria Line Upgrade – Lead Carbody Structural Engineer
Bombardier
ICE3 – Carbody Structural Engineer
Bombardier
Transpennine Express Bid – Carbody Crash Analyst
Bombardier
Graduate Engineer
Bombardier
Platform Convergence and Modularization Director
ALSTOM
02.2023 - Current
- I am responsible for driving Product Management and Modularization across a third of the ALSYOM Global RSC portfolio (Urban and Light Rail platforms)
- To date this has led to the delivery of the first product baseline release in April 2024
- I have also led the development and deployment of our Tender Maturity Review process as the global process owner, which governs the products we are offering in our tenders globally
- I have also delivered the Job Description for the role and defined our team’s comms and governance
- I have also driven the global deployment in tenders of our product re-use Key Performance Indicator.
Director - Head of Process & Governance
ALSTOM
03.2020 - 02.2023
- Leading a global transformation team of Process Standardisation Experts, and Process Architects to design and deploy the Operating Model across Engineering globally, through several large organisational changes
- In addition to driving process simplification and standardisation initiatives globally to significantly improve our business efficiency and competitiveness
- This resulted in a 50% improvement of our Engineering on-time delivery globally from 2019 to 2020, and currently drives convergence of our two companies.
Director - Head of Governance & Performance
Bombardier
08.2019 - 03.2020
- Leading a team of Governance Leads and Performance Data Analysts to drive the Engineering business bids and projects performance
- Part of which was the successful design and deployment of a new visual management system deployed in all our Product Family teams globally.
Director - Head of Product & Engineering Value Chain
Bombardier
03.2018 - 07.2019
- Led the team of Process Architects to define and deploy the Global Engineering Operating Model to deliver a new culture of product standardisation within the Engineering business, whilst continuing to adapt and deliver bids governance and project execution across a global business under very demanding financial constraints.
Head of Engineering - Process & Tools
Bombardier
05.2016 - 03.2018
- For the Western Europe, Middle East & Africa region delivering the Engineering Process & Tools simplification strategy.
Head of Engineering for Crossrail (Class 345) Functional Integration, Information Systems, and Signalling
Bombardier
05.2015 - 04.2016
- In this senior engineering leadership role, I led three multi-disciplined teams within the Crossrail Engineering organisation
- This global team (based in UK, Sweden, Germany, and Canada) comprises of 34 people (circa £3.3 million resource spend per annum) reporting to me
- In this role I led the planning, programme delivery, financial control, resource management, risk management, governance, stakeholder management (both customer facing and internally), and reporting and issue management for these teams
- This has led to, for the first time on a Bombardier UK project the functional baselining of the design to hold the entire engineering programme due to the critical path activities of these teams, during a period of significant organisational change.
Head of Engineering for Makkah Metro
Bombardier
05.2014 - 04.2015
- In this leadership role, I delivered the Engineering content of the bid that was submitted to the customer in Saudi Arabia at the end of Dec 2014, and for supporting the on-going bid negotiations
- In so doing I lead an international team of 35 Engineers, based in the UK and France.
Trent XWB-97 FBH (Front Bearing Housing) Structure IPT (Integrated Project Team) Leader
Rolls-Royce
01.2012 - 05.2014
- In this leadership role I led a cross functional global project team (3 UK sites, Japan, and India) of 30 people (£2.3 million resource spend per annum), with responsibility for design, component definition, stress, supply chain, and manufacture of the FBH
- This is one of the most challenging assemblies on the engine due to the complex global supply chain (US, Japan, and UK), and therefore this role has really developed my risk management, supply management, critical path planning, team coordination, and communication skills to ensure that my team delivered our commitments.
Class 172 Turbostar - Project Engineer
Bombardier
07.2008 - 12.2011
- In this key senior deputy role leading a team of 69 Engineers, my responsibilities included core design scrutiny, with modification and supplier concession approval, resulting in a fleet reliability far exceeding the customer’s expectations
- Fundamental to my role was the technical support of the Engineers during design development
- I also delivered the close-out of the design issues, with the five customers at the contract reviews
- This has been critical in further establishing my approach to customer facing roles
- Gaining strong experience of leading and vastly broadened my engineering understanding.
Education
Postgraduate Diploma - Management Studies
De Montfort University
Leicester 09.2003 - 06.2005
BEng Hons. - undefined
University of Strathclyde
Highers - undefined
Rannoch School
undefined
Skills
- Staff development
- Strategies and goals
- Policy development
- Research and Development
- Policy enforcement
- High-value project management
- Strategic planning
- Business development
Custom
- I am a Governor on the Board at Walter Evans Primary & Nursery School
- In my spare time, to keep fit I enjoy running (competed in everything from 10k’s to 40 Milers).
- My passion is skiing. I spend as much time as possible in the mountains with my wife and children.
Personal Information
Date of birth: 11/13/78
Affiliations
- • In my spare time, to keep fit I enjoy running (competed in everything from 10k’s to 40 Milers).
- • My passion is skiing. I spend as much time as possible in the mountains with my wife and children.
Accomplishments
· Bombardier UK, Mentor Award 2019 - Highly Commended
· “Validation Simulation of New Train Railway Rolling Stock Using the Finite Element Method” – Dyna Conference 2003, Ulm Germany (co-authored with Dr Martin Wilson)
I achieved the Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award in 1996
Certification
· Chartered Engineer (since 1/8/05) and Member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers
· Member of the Chartered Management Institute
· Associate Member of the Association of Project Management
· APMP Qualification – IPMA Level D Certification (obtained 8/5/13)
· EDI Level 4 National Award in Holistic Gas Turbine (obtained 7/11/12)
· Institute of Leadership & Management – Level 2 Certificate in Team Leading (obtained Jan’10)
Timeline
Platform Convergence and Modularization Director
ALSTOM
02.2023 - Current
Director - Head of Process & Governance
ALSTOM
03.2020 - 02.2023
Director - Head of Governance & Performance
Bombardier
08.2019 - 03.2020
Director - Head of Product & Engineering Value Chain
Bombardier
03.2018 - 07.2019
Head of Engineering - Process & Tools
Bombardier
05.2016 - 03.2018
Head of Engineering for Crossrail (Class 345) Functional Integration, Information Systems, and Signalling
Bombardier
05.2015 - 04.2016
Head of Engineering for Makkah Metro
Bombardier
05.2014 - 04.2015
Trent XWB-97 FBH (Front Bearing Housing) Structure IPT (Integrated Project Team) Leader
Rolls-Royce
01.2012 - 05.2014
Class 172 Turbostar - Project Engineer
Bombardier
07.2008 - 12.2011
Postgraduate Diploma - Management Studies
De Montfort University
09.2003 - 06.2005
Gautrain - Weights Eng and Project Planner
Bombardier
Victoria Line Upgrade – Lead Carbody Structural Engineer
Bombardier
ICE3 – Carbody Structural Engineer
Bombardier
Transpennine Express Bid – Carbody Crash Analyst
Bombardier
Graduate Engineer
Bombardier
BEng Hons. - undefined
University of Strathclyde
Highers - undefined
Rannoch School
undefined
Class 378 Electrostar - Vehicle Engineer
Bombardier
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