David Coombes FCILT - Chair
David Coombes FCILT FCMI is Chief Executive of The Skills Group and Managing Director of Skills for Logistics.
With 30 years’ experience, David now plays a pivotal role within the sector, helping to develop learning across the industry. He is currently a route panel member for Transport and Logistics on the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education board; Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport; and Strategic Advisor to the UK Warehousing Association.
Having built his career in corporate and third-party logistics with a number of global operators, David started his own supply chain consultancy and recruitment practice in 2006.
David has an executive MBA from the Chartered Institute of Management
The Skills Group is a Bristol-based recruitment, consulting and assessing organisation, working across supply chain and logistics, banking and finance, utilities and charitable institutions.
Skills for Logistics is an independent end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) and international consultancy with unrivalled industry expertise. The company works at the heart of apprenticeship standards to support learners both at home and internationally. Recent consultancy projects include the development of National Occupational Standards in Oman, where David worked closely with Omani government as part of their 2040 logistics strategy to upskill and employ circa 250,000 in logistics and supply chain roles
Adrian Aplin FCILT - Committee Member
Adrian spent 32 years as a Royal Navy Logistics and Supply Chain specialist, primarily in support to operations, strategy and policy. He served in the UK MoD Head Office in Whitehall, Navy Command Headquarters, and the Defence Equipment & Support organisation in addition to a number of operational roles internationally. As a Commodore (1*) he was Head of the RN’s Infrastructure portfolio, senior Logistics professional responsible for all Logistics and Supply Chain activity across the Naval Service and Deputy Chief Naval Logistics Officer. Latterly he was Head of Defence Logistics Strategy across all 3 Services driving the Defence Support Network Transformation and a new generation of evergreen digital cloud based cyber-secure logistics services as Programme Director of the £1.4Bn Logistics IS Programme. Adrian retired early from the UK MoD in 2019 to pursue his commercial business interests and offer part time consultancy, complimenting his military experience with a practical commercial outlook.
Colin Rees CMILT - Committee Member
Colin has worked in the transport industry, both in the private and public sectors, and been a member of the CILT for over 40 years.
Following completion of a post graduate transport planning degree at Liverpool University he joined the National Bus Company as a trainee, going on to work in a commercial management role in the bus industry.
Following a 25 year career in the bus industry Colin moved into transportation planning and public transport roles at local authorities in the West of England, holding the post of Group Manager Strategic Transport at Bristol City Council before retiring in 2017.
Since retirement he has played an active role in the Institute, sitting on the South West Regional Committee and representing that region at RAG. He became Chairman of the Bristol, Gloucestershire and Somerset Section in 2019.
Dr Daniela Paddeu CMILT - Committee Member
Dr Daniela Paddeu is a Chartered Civil Engineer and a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK), specialised in Transport and Logistics. She works as research fellow at the Centre for Transport & Society (UWE, Bristol). Her expertise is in sustainable freight transport, shared and innovative transport systems (e.g. driverless vehicles and new technologies), green logistics, city logistics, policy implications, stakeholder behaviour, user’s perception and customer satisfaction applied to the transport sector. In 2017 she was awarded a PhD in Civil Engineering and Architecture and a ‘Doctor Europaeus’ award in Civil Engineering and Architecture. She carries out qualitative and quantitative research, and has developed a report for the Government Office for Science towards the impact of new technologies and automation in freight transport and handling systems. She teaches Project and Risk Management, Supply Chain Management, Freight Transport and Logistics at UWE, Bristol.
Dr Stavros Karamperidis CMILT - Committee Member
Dr Stavros Karamperidis is a Lecturer in Maritime Economics in the Department of International Shipping, Logistics and Operations at Plymouth University. Stavros is also a Visiting Professor at World Maritime University, Heriot-Watt University and he is regularly invited to deliver guest lectures at Merchant Maritime Academies. Prior to joining Plymouth, he has conducted research in various UK Universities, his research was funded by industry (e.g. ports, logistic companies), various Governments and UK research councils. Recently Stavros secured funding from the Horizon 2020 and the Innovative UK to conduct research on maritime cyber security. He also secured funding from EPSRC to decarbonise UK’s freight transport. His primarily research interests are in shipping and ports logistics, maritime cyber security, transport performance measurement, indices development and employability of millennials in logistics. Before joining academia, Stavros worked in various companies ranging from SME’s to multinational companies. Stavros is regularly invited to chair several key European and UK commercial and academic conferences (e.g. https://www.europeanfreightleaders.eu/next-conference/). Stavros is chairman for Devon and Cornwall for Chartered Institute of Transport (Chartered Member) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Further information could be found at the following link: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/stavros-karamperidis
Nick Jacques FCILT - Committee Member
Nick Jacques joined Costain as a principal consultant in January 2015 and since this time has been fully deployed on the Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) transformation programme. The role involves working alongside DE&S staff helping to shape and change the way that the DE&S manages the procurement, operation and support of the MoD’s 10 year £164Bn equipment plan. Nick has been the driving force behind raising the profile of Support in the business, providing thought leadership to both the MoD client and the Industry transformation team, leading to a move away from a Programme Management to an Operations Management approach to delivering through life support to equipment.
Prior to this Nick spent 8 years as the Support Director for General Dynamics UK Ltd with accountability for establishing and maintaining the support infrastructure for the £2.2Bn Bowman project, a tactical communications system integrating digital voice and data technology to provide secure radio, telephone, intercom and tactical internet services operated by all three military services on over 18,000 platforms. Under his leadership availability of spares to meet Operational demands in Iraq & Afghanistan were improved to >96% in parallel with reducing inventory by 25% and significantly reducing the cost of the follow-on contract, leading to high levels of customer satisfaction.
Before this Nick was the Head of Global Operations for Mitel Networks Corporation a global provider of network communications solutions. Responsible for manufacturing, procurement, customer services and product repair, he was accountable for formulating and executing strategies required to eliminate waste in end to end supply chain operations whilst enhancing customer value. In an environment of changing products, geographies and business structure he was the driving force behind the restructuring of Operations, including centralisation of back office activities, outsourcing of manufacturing, divesting of facilities and shaping operations to support a service centric offering to customers
Nick has a MSc in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Cranfield University, with a paper on Inventory Risk published in the The International Journal of logistics Management. He also has an MSC in Business Psychology from the University of South Wales and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.
Richard Kemble CMILT - Committee Member
Richard has been a member of various grades of the Institute since 1971 and gained Chartered Member status in 1988.
After starting his career in public transport with the bus operator, East Kent, he joined London Transport and for the next 16 years he undertook various roles in the bus operating side.
In 1989 Richard took the opportunity to broaden his experience and joined Avon County Council’s public transport team. Tasks comprised managing and reviewing contracts for supported bus services, liaison with councillors and operators about day-to-day matters affecting bus services and also liaison with neighbouring authorities about cross-boundary issues.
In1989 Avon was replaced by 4 unitary authorities as part of local government reorganisation and Richard transferred to the new South Gloucestershire Council. Prior to retirement in 2016 his remit altered to feature the public transport aspects of transport policy and strategy which included input into large projects such as the Joint Local Transport Plan, the Greater Bristol Bus Network and the Metrobus scheme.
George Lang FCILT - Committee Member
George “came ashore” in 1977 having gone to sea as a deck apprentice in 1966; served in cargo ships, oil tankers of varying types and sizes and SRN4 passenger hovercraft. He holds a Certificate of Competency as Master (Foreign Going).
He then worked with ACT Services as a ship-planning coordinator on the UK/Australasian trade before taking on the role of Distribution Manager with a company importing and distributing prawns into the UK and Europe.
He moved into training and education, becoming the Principal Lecturer at Warsash Maritime Academy (a part of Southampton Solent University) responsible primarily for courses using ship’s bridge simulators.
He obtained a BSc (Hons) degree in Mathematics and Computing through the OU in 1996 and went on to study for an MBA.
He was a founder member of the Nautical Institute in 1972, and served a 9 year period as Vice President. He is presently a Director and Trustee of the NI.
An active member of the CIT then CILT from the early 1980s, he was a committee member, including chair, of the Hampshire & Dorset Group until 2010 when he retired to Devon.
He soon became an active member of the Devon & Cornwall Group, stepping down as chair in 2019.