Prominent businessman takes top HS2 role

GBSLEP chairman Steve Hollis

The former chairman of Aston Villa and senior figure at KPMG in the Midlands has taken the role of chairman of the HS2 Growth Delivery Board.

Steve Hollis is well-known across the West Midlands, and is the current chairman of Birmingham Metropolitan College Corporation and the University of Birmingham Business School Advisory Board.

He is also the former Midlands regional chairman of financial services firm KPMG and vice-chairman of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership.

Currently, Hollis is the chair for a number of private sector companies in the UK and US, including Scottish American Capital, Sorbus Partners, GSHW and Bericote Properties.

In his role for HS2, Hollis will oversee the £4.4bn budget as the project reaches a crucial stage of development, which includes construction of two new stations, Curzon Street and Interchange, and the rolling stock depot at Washwood Heath, along with the vast amount of civil engineering work required to create the new railway.

He said: “HS2 is the largest infrastructure project in Europe and the impact it will have, and is already having, on the West Midlands is incredible. HS2 presents a once in a generation chance to deliver growth on an unprecedented scale and we have an important role to play in ensuring the region is able to meet this challenge.

“I am excited to become part of this transformational project, which is very much beyond building a railway and I look forward to meeting the many stakeholders that are responsible for delivering the different elements that form the programme.”

Cllr Bob Sleigh, deputy mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority and HS2 portfolio lead, said: “We welcome Steve’s appointment as the new chair of the Growth Delivery Board. Having a Chair with the experience, and the detailed local knowledge, that Steve brings to the programme will be invaluable, as we enter a period where HS2 becomes increasingly visible, with the development of the new stations, construction of the high-speed rail track, and the implementation of the wider connectivity package across the region all beginning to take shape.”

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