AET Council

Council members have an important role in the governance of AET including setting our strategic direction. Among other things, they bring valuable perspectives and contributions to our activities and they are the voice of our members.

The Council, which consists of a maximum of 24 Members of the Association for European Transport, represents the AET members and helps with the direction of the association. One third of the Council seats are elected each year at the Annual General Assembly, held at the European Transport Conference.

Council Chair:                         Oliver Charlesworth

Council Deputy Chair:           Jeffrey Howard

Council Members are normally elected for three years, with one-third of the Council standing down for re-election each year. If you are an AET member and would like to be considered for the next election please let us know by using the contact us form.

	Oliver Charlesworth Bentley Systems  UK	My biggest motivation on the Council is improving the benefits for members. I have several of my own ideas on what the Association can do to improve its offering to members but more importantly I have spoken to several other members and have got their ideas too – something I plan to continue and increase.		Jeffrey Howard Rail Partners UK	AET is the leader in bringing together Europe’s transport research, policy, and practice. With my experience as both a practitioner and researcher, I joined the AET Council to support their vision to bring together the professional and academic perspectives in shaping transport discussions. I also want to support AET’s role in the development of the next generation of professionals and researchers.
	Colin Chick Gloucestershire County Council UK	My motivation for being an Individual Member of the Council is so that I can continue to play an active role in further developing and strengthening AET to be the premier transport organisation in Europe from an Independent Council Member perspective. In addition, I want to work with and through the Association to assist in furthering the knowledge and experience of individuals and organisations, thereby promoting and fostering a greater understanding of transport.		Giovanni Acciaro Net Engineering s.r.l.  Italy	I am interested in contributing to the future development of the Association by sharing my experience and knowledge in the area of integration between mobility and transport infrastructure issues. I  am also interested in promoting interests and know-how of AET in events and projects, with specific attention to Italian market. I would also like to promote engagement of young professionals, both enriching AET experiences and offering opportunities to young resources for exchanging ideas at European level.
	Farshid Kamali Atkins UK	AET or as it was before PTRC, has played a significant role in promoting transport planning in the UK and in Europe, by way of holding these conferences as well as various training programmes. I would like to play a key role in leading the work of AET, specially in the Transport in Urban Areas over the next phase of its growth.		Peter Snelson Independent Consultant UK	One of the mast challenging things for the future of AET is the renewal of its membership and bringing younger professionals and academics into its membership and in particular Council and Board. I want to continue to help move AET into the future with a strong and active membership as well as a successful conference.
	Csaba Orosz Budapest University of Technology and Economics Hungary	I want to increase the influence of AET and its spirit in some new EU member states. I also hope that our best students become young members in AET. Besides, I would also participate in the renewal activities of the Association, initiated by the General Assembly, by the Council and by the Board.		Bruno Villé MINT nv Belgium	As a regular visitor of ETC, I have experienced several times how enlightening it can be to hear about the work and experiences of other professionals, even about subjects that do not necessary fully match my own work domain. Being able to contribute to this with my personal ideas and professional experience is, in my opinion, an added value not only for myself but also for the AET.
	Francis Cirianni Department of Transport and Infrastructures Calabria Region Italy	I have been an AET member since 2002 and on the Council since 2016. I believe that the involvement of associates is fundamental for the progress of AET, with a particular attention to young professionals.		Johnny Ojeil Romboll UK	I have been a council member and am enjoying contributing to the organisation and this has helped me raise the profile within my own organisation and beyond. It is a worthwhile and an important role to fulfil. Links between academia and the industry are crucial and unique, and I can help bridge the gap and bring us closer. I also bring some pragmatism to our approach and can bring large organisation thinking to the table that will help us in the long run. Plus my international experience and background I feel can be helpful.
	Domokos Esztergar-Kiss Budapest University of Technology and Economics Hungary	I have been an AET member since 2015. With my growing experience I would like to serve the Council and represent the Central European perspective of transportation research.		Anna Contenti Jacobs Italy	I served as an AET Ambassador for Italy for the past two years and I would like to have the opportunity to further support and expand AET's impact in Europe. I intend to contribute my network of transport professional in Italy and Europe and my enthusiasm for integrating transport research with transport practice.
	Kay Gade DLR Germany	My contributions will be to proactively participate in the Council's activities and to assist in the organisation of the ETC as well as to support the collaboration with other organisations and with the European Commission. As the exchange of knowledge among researchers and bringing together research and practice are especially important to me, I would also like to contribute to the (further) development of new formats for knowledge exchange and transfer.		Tobias Hagen Research Lab for Urban Transport,  Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences Germany	I would like to represent the academic perspective and especially that of young researchers: My PhD students are strongly engaged as presenters at the ETC. I conduct applied research in the field of "Data Science & Mobility". In doing so, I regularly cooperate with companies. Data science has become increasingly important for the transportation sector in recent years. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to help shape and develop the AET and the ETC.
	Wim Korver Goudappel Group Netherlands	In our profession knowledge, exchange is the fuel for new ideas. The European Transport Conference is one of the leading platforms to facilitate this knowledge exchange. I see it as my personal mission to bring this knowledge exchange one step further. Being a AET Council member gives me the opportunities to contribute to the ETC’s actual performance and its future role.		James Odeck Norwegian University of Science and Technology Norway	I want to network with other transport professionals, share the Scandinavian experiences with the rest of Europe and develop my own profession from an international perspective. I want to help to shape the AET activities based on the background that I have and in collaboration with other members of the council.
	Michael Bach Independent Consultant UK	I want help to translate the revised Vision for AET into action to help take AET onto a new level. I also want to strengthen the links between research, policy and action; to maintain the link between land-use and transport planning; and to measure our success in changing the structure and modal split of our cities and adapting our travel behaviour to create more sustainable and livable places.		András Munkácsy KTI Institute for Transport Sciences Hungary	After attending several ETCs and being a programme committee member since 2017, I have the impression that this conference is a unique meeting point of transport consultants, researchers and professionals from public administration and transport authorities in Europe. What is more, AET is a big family with a long tradition and great values. I want to support AET in maintaining or even improving its high standards and to strengthen the representation of my region (Eastern and Central Europe) in the Association.
	Ines Kawgan-Kagan AEM Institute Germany	I love the atmosphere and that you are always welcome to bring in your ideas. I enjoy the ETC and would like to pay back this feeling by supporting and volunteering in the AET and shaping the future of the conference. I am very passionate about bringing research and practice together at the ETC, and I bring a different perspective to the strategic discussion of the AET. I have a hands-on mentality, and love to think outside the box.		Ajeni Ari Thimnu Technological University Dublin Ireland	I plan to apply all facet of my knowledge and experience in line with matters of sustaining an adaptable demand for transport, intellectual property sharing and co-innovation alongside a perceptual view of end users and existing policy. I also intend to add onto AET vision with approaches on sustaining existing transport policies through the lens of stakeholders that brings about a valuable plus inclusive transport ecosystem.
	Andre Goncalves Sweco Belgium			Frederico Messa Transform Transport Italy
	Reza Tolouei AECOM UK

AET Board

The Association for European Transport's Board is appointed by the AET Council. It is accountable to AET members via the representation of the Council for developing the Association and the European Transport Conference.

The AET Board consists of up to seven members appointed by the Council. The Board is responsible for agreeing its own roles and responsibilities amongst its members, however, it must have a Chairman, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Board members also have roles on AET Working Groups.

	Hermann Maier AET Board Chair Jacobs Consultancy UK	I grew up in a remote corner of West Germany, cut off to the north by East Germany and to the east by Czechoslovakia, both then impenetrable borders. This made me really appreciate open borders and international cooperation, and I am engaged with AET to build connections and help us all learn from international experience. I started my career in transport planning in a local authority in London before moving to London Transport and later a consultancy, working on projects in Europe, Asia, Australia and the US. My main interests are in public transport, demand forecasting, scheme appraisal and business cases. I attended my first conference in 1988 and ever since I have found that ETC reinvigorates my interest in transport planning and keeps my enthusiasm for the profession alive. Working Group: European Transport Conference
	Barry Zondag AET Board Treasurer Significance The Netherlands	Being part of the AET family has always felt like being at the right place for me. AET offers me an unique opportunity  to exchange new ideas and insights with colleagues from all over Europe. Combining this with the friendly atmosphere and a rich social programme makes it a real pleasure to be a member. It is therefore a privilege for me to serve as a board member.
	Pierluigi Coppola AET Board Director Polytechnic University of Milan Italy	I attended my first conference in the year 2000 and ever since I have found that ETC offers great opportunities to keep up with developments both in planning practice and research in the transport sector. It's a perfect mix of policy and research papers which have stimulated my interest in contributing directly to the organization of the conference by participating, firstly, in the Program Committees and then joining the AET Board of Directors. I think that being part of AET allows to develop ideas and implement projects together with colleagues with different level of expertise and experience, coming from all over Europe. Working Groups: Publications (Interim); International Relations and Ambassadors (Interim)
	Gisela Gräfin von Schlieffen AET Board Director Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund Germany	Growing up in the three country corner of Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany, I intend to connect people in Europe. AET is the perfect place for live knowledge exchange in transport and mobility, contributing to shaping more sustainable countries. Working Group: Marketing & Recruitment
	Remko Smit AET Board Secretary Rijkswaterstaat, Water Verkeer en leefomgeving The Netherlands	I have been working for Rijkswaterstaat since 1997, in the field of strategic transport models, freight and logistics, inland navigation and travel surveys.  It has always been clear to me that knowledge dissemination and international cooperation is of crucial importance. It is inspiring, and  helps the transport sector forward with high quality knowledge and innovation. AET, and ETC are very important to keep the international knowledge network in shape, and I am honoured that I can contribute to this by being active for the AET. Working Group: AET Website
	Conall Mac Aongusa AET Board Director Mobimetrix – Ireland Independent Transport Planner Ireland	I have worked as a transport engineer and planner in Ireland, Europe and Middle East and in the last decade have been focused on technology and the links between vehicle manufacturers, ITS and infrastructure planners.  I have been attending ETC since 2007.  I have served on AET Council and was Chair of Council from 2012 to 2016. I was very happy to welcome ETC to my native city Dublin in 2018 and 2019. With AET Board I will assist the drive to develop AET and ETC to become the leading European event for transport policymakers, practitioners and researchers. I will promote the development of our new online webinar initiatives and resources so that AET has the potential to become the preferred platform for debate on transport in Europe. Working Group: Transport and Mobility Forum
	António Lobo AET Board Director University of Porto Research Fellow Portugal	I have been working with AET since 2019 and this experience could not have been more positive. I started as a member of an enthusiastic group of Ambassadors that promote AET and ETC across Europe and I had the opportunity to engage in diverse and impactful activities. Now, as a Board member, I fully stand for AET’s Vision, which, in my opinion, embodies the right balance between transport professionals and academia. I see ETC as a unique forum to promote a true integration at the European scale of different perspectives about the present and the future of transport systems, addressing the increasing challenges faced by this sector in a more effective way. Working Group: Publications