The Infrastructure Podcast: Episode 146
Guest: David Porter, 161st President of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Explaining infrastructure value
In today’s podcast we explore the power of investment in infrastructure to change and improve people’s lives - every day. My guest is
David Porter, the newly installed 161st President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. As a career civil servant in Northern Ireland, he knows better than most how civil engineering and infrastructure shapes almost every aspect of daily life-from the water we drink and the energy that powers our homes, to the transport networks and flood defences that keep the country moving and safe. And yet, despite its central role, and as David points out, the profession often struggles to explain its value, earn public trust, or influence the decisions that matter most.
The Infrastructure Podcast: Episode 145
Guest: Ruth Todd CBE, Operations and Supply Chain Director, Rolls-Royce SMR
My guest today is Ruth Todd CBE, Rolls-Royce SMR’s Operations and Supply Chain Director, the person charged with turning this long-standing ambition into a deliverable reality. And having led the UK’s hugely successful Covid Vaccine Task Force back in 2020/21 and worked on High Speed 2, Ruth is no stranger to a massive challenge.
Certainly, delivering new nuclear in the UK is up there in the league table of major challenges. As the recent Fingleton Review put it, the sector is facing strategic failure at a moment of national importance.
A series of conversations with some of the key leaders and influencers from across the UK infrastructure sector, produced and hosted by journalist and commentator Antony Oliver.
The next episode of the Infrastructure Podcast will be published on Monday 19th January 2026.
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The power behind The Infrastructure Podcast
Antony Oliver Consulting
Editorial consultancy services for the infrastructure sector
Antony works with a range of clients across the infrastructure sector, helping to boost their communication and marketing strategies and delivery so as to stimulate discussion and action in the industry.
This work includes:
- editorial support and creation
- event organisation, preparation and delivery
- round table discussion hosting and workshop/team facilitation
- video and podcasting
He has spent the last 30 years working as a journalist and editor across the infrastructure sector. Having joined New Civil Engineer magazine in 1994, he edited the title for 14 years until 2013, expanding NCE from a traditional paper magazine to deliver live events and conferences and then embrace the expanding world of multi-media digital delivery.
In 2014 he left NCE to create and launch Infrastructure Intelligence, a new digital-first publication for the sector, and for two years led and developed this ground-breaking media brand for the Association for Engineering and Consultancy.
He is a chartered civil engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, having started his career with Owen Williams and Partners and Balfour Beatty. He is committed to driving change across the UK infrastructure sector and is a Trustee of the Built Environment Trust and a Director of the Building Centre in Store Street, London.
antony@antonyoliver.com
