T&T appoints former Royal Mail boss to new role of chief transformation officer

Turner & Townsend has appointed former Royal Mail boss Emma Gilthorpe as its first chief transformation officer.

T&T said Gilthorpe “will be responsible for driving global transformation across its operating platform, including embracing the opportunities of AI and technology to achieve its ambition to become the world’s leading programme management business”.

She was chief executive of Royal Mail for just over a year until June 2025 and before that spent 15 years on the executive team at Heathrow Airport including a spell as chief operations officer. She also worked on the airport’s expansion programme.

T&T said she will work with chief operating officer David Whysall who said: “The significance of her appointment demonstrates the size of our ambition. Emma is one of our industry’s most prominent figures with a tremendous track record of operating and delivering significant transformation across a range of large, multi-sector organisations.”