Our second Infrastructure Intelligence Live In the Spotlight interview of 2021 takes place on Friday 11 June and features Emma-Jane Houghton, the commercial director of the UK’s new hospital programme. 

Houghton is someone who is passionate about championing a different commercial response for 21st century built environment investment. At a time when there is much talk in the construction industry about change and doing things differently, Emma-Jane’s is a confident and persuasive voice for the benefits of rethinking procurement and the way the industry works. 

With a steely determination to do things differently and someone who really cares about the sector, Houghton is passionate about engaging stakeholders and listening to what they have to say. She knows that collaboration works and that it is the only way for construction to meet its delivery challenges and achieve its broader socio-economic objectives. 

“It is the commercial model and the market and supplier engagement that makes all of this happen,” she says. “We can say all the aspirational stuff we want, but if we don’t engage with our partners and suppliers in the right way and incentivise performance around the risk that we have, then none of it ever happens,” says Houghton.

In this Infrastructure Intelligence In the Spotlight interview, Emma-Jane Houghton will talk about her pioneering approach to enable supply chains of the future and showing that if the industry thinks differently and acts boldly and bravely then great things can happen. 

“The new hospital programme is developing an alliancing approach which will enable safe, broad and confident participation from a range of suppliers in a ‘think tank’ type environment where we work with them over a longer timeframe to solve challenges, create suppliers that are able to work with us over the long term and basically enable long-term change in construction practices around key things like net zero carbon and modern methods of construction for a kit of parts approach and digitisation,” says Houghton.

As she says: “I am determined to champion that there is a different commercial environment to major built environment investment.  We can do things in a much smarter and modern way that creates lasting and sustainable legacy for the sector – and we need to start now!”

Emma-Jane will be in conversation with Infrastructure Intelligence editor, Andy Walker. If you have a question you'd like to be put to Emma-Jane then email it to Andy Walker at awalker@infrastructure-intelligence.com and we'll add it to the list.

Thinking differently to enable the supply chain of the future
An Infrastructure Intelligence In the Spotlight interview

With Emma-Jane Houghton, Commercial Director, UK New Hospital Programme
Friday 11 June 2021 at 11am.
Click here to book your place at this live interview.