Network Rail announces new Group Communications Director within Executive Leadership Team: Molly Neal photo

Tuesday 29 Oct 2024

Network Rail announces new Group Communications Director within Executive Leadership Team

Region & Route:
National
  • Molly Neal joins Network Rail from National Grid in January
  • Molly replaces David Leam who has moved into the role of Chief of Staff

Network Rail has today announced the appointment of Molly Neal as new Group Communications Director and member of its Executive Leadership Team.

Reporting to Chief Executive Andrew Haines, Molly will lead the strategic direction of communications and stakeholder engagement for the organisation, and will take up her new post in January.

Molly joins from National Grid, where she has led their global Corporate Communications & Brand function for five years. She is an influential corporate affairs leader, with significant experience across diverse sectors. In addition to her time at National Grid, she has also led communications at UK real estate developer Land Securities Group PLC and is a former journalist at the Wall Street Journal. She is listed in the PR Week UK Power Book, which recognises the most influential and respected communications professionals in the UK.

Speaking on her appointment, Molly said: “I’m really looking forward to joining Network Rail at such a crucial time for the rail industry. There’s an incredible opportunity to bring track and train together under Great British Railways, and communications will have a critical role to play in delivering the significant transformation ahead. Rail plays such an important role in people’s lives and I’m excited to be joining an industry with such strong societal impact.”

Andrew Haines, Chief Executive for Network Rail, said: “Molly will be an excellent addition to our Executive Leadership Team. With a new government committed to reforming our sector, this is a time of transformational change and the strong communications leadership that Molly brings will be vital to our success moving forward.”

Molly replaces David Leam, who has now moved into the role of Chief of Staff for Network Rail.

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

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