Former BP man to keep watch on major government projects
A FORMER BP executive has been drafted in to lead the government group keeping tabs on High Speed 2 and other big building work.
John Manzoni, most recently head of Talisman Energy, will take over the Major Projects Authority and its mandate to tackle poor project management in the public sector.
The MPA, set up in 2011, came under scrutiny last week when the government said it would keep secret the group’s report that voiced doubts about HS2’s progress.
“Some of the largest and most complex projects can be found in government and it’s the scale of the challenge that makes this role interesting,” said Manzoni.
“It’s hard to fight against the logic of spending large amounts of money more effectively and improving public services at the same time.”
He replaces founding chief executive David Pitchford, who left last summer.