Summary
My Story
I am a UK (and Australian) citizen, who has been travelling and living internationally since the 1960s. I attended school in Colombia, Thailand (for 3 years up to 1971) and the UK. Apart from the UK, I lived in the USA for several years, spent 11 years in Australia (until 2007), 2 years in Uganda (from 2010) and have been based back in Thailand since 2019.
My early travelling stemmed from my father’s work: Sydney Thriscutt was a former highways engineer with the World Bank and an independent consultant, who started his career building runways for the RAF in wartime Europe; spent most of the 1950s in the former British colonies in the Middle East and Africa, followed by decades of international experience until retirement the late 1990s. He was the first freelance consultant hired by the EBRD to assess the road asset needs throughout the former Soviet countries in Central Europe in 1991.
My EXPERTISE
This background has provided me with a long and enduring appreciation of the roads sub-sector in an international perspective. I completed a degree in civil engineering from the UK in 1984, providing the technical background. This was complemented with an MBA (also from the UK) completed in 1989, which provided a vital appreciation of the importance of proper business practices necessary for effective road management.
I have also completed a Certificate IV in Training & Assessment (in Australia) and am an experienced speaker, having been a toastmaster for over 10 years, speaking in over a dozen countries to a wide range of audiences. I am a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), a member of the Institute of Directors and the Institution of Highways and Transportation, in the UK.
Professional Experience
I have over 40 years of professional experience in approximately 40 countries across most regions of the World. My work has covered almost every element necessary for good road management, aiming to provide practical and sensible solutions suitable to local circumstances.
This experience has included working in both wealthy and much less economically developed countries. I have worked for national and local governments, for most of the main international multilateral and bilateral development partners, and for private sector consulting organisations from many countries.
I have extensive experience of public speaking and presentational skills, having spoken in dozens of countries, at international conferences and meetings. I am an experienced workshop facilitator and have been involved in developing and delivering numerous training programmes covering many areas of road management.
Please see below if you would like a copy of my latest curriculum vitae, which is available in various formats used by international donors.
My Vision & Approach
With such a long and extensive international background, I have a good appreciation of the different approaches adopted by different countries in the management of their road infrastructure. I can assess how these arrangements compare to best international practice and from this, provide practical solutions that are appropriate for local circumstances.
Integrity is important, always aiming to provide the very best value to reflect the interests of my many clients, I also respect my professional obligation to give my clients the advice and recommendations that I believe are in their best, long-term interest, even where these might not be easy, or in my own interests.
This is evident in the approach taken toward the development of the RoadMark road data collection system. Unlike many far more complex and expensive systems, which can have significant long-term costs to the client and ties them into a continual commitment with their suppliers, RoadMark has been designed to be as simple as possible to use, with minimal or no longer-term obligations. It is intentionally, as simple as possible to use, in order to reflect the long-term nature of road management, which needs to be locally sustainable.
To give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.
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