Sir David Rowlands

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Sir David Rowlands, (born May 1947), was a civil servant of 33 years culminating in a stint as Permanent Secretary to the Department for Transport.

Sir David Rowlands, was educated at Oxford University before starting his career with the international engineering business IMI plc. He left the private sector to join the Department of Trade and Industry in 1974. At the DTI he was appointed private secretary to the Minister of State for Industry.

He moved to the then Ministry of Transport in 1983 where he has held a number of posts with responsibilities for finance, aviation, shipping, ports and railways. Before being appointed Permanent Secretary in May 2003, he was the director general for railways, aviation, logistics, maritime and security.

In this role he was central to the creation of Network Rail after Railtrack was put into administration and the delivery of public-private partnerships for the London Underground and the National Air Traffic Services. David received a knighthood in the Birthday Honours List 2006.

He retired on his 60th Birthday on 27th May 2007, replaced by Robert Devereux.