The appointment carries significant weight for investors and developers tracking the sector. With Turner & Townsend majority-owned by CBRE Group, the world's largest commercial real estate services firm, the creation of a dedicated transformation role signals a strategic pivot towards technology-enabled delivery, with AI integration expected to reshape how major real estate, infrastructure and energy programmes are managed, costed and controlled. For developers navigating increasingly complex project environments, the implications for programme efficiency, cost certainty and risk management could be material.

 

Gilthorpe brings more than 20 years of experience leading large-scale transformation programmes. Most recently Chief Executive of Royal Mail, she returned the 500-year-old organisation and its 130,000-strong workforce to profitability within a single year by building a technology-centred operating model anchored by an aligned leadership team. Before that, she spent nearly 15 years on the executive team at Heathrow Airport, ultimately serving as Chief Operations Officer through the Covid-19 pandemic. Crucially for her new role, she also established Heathrow's expansion programme, a €35bn, 25-year infrastructure project involving binding commitments on noise reduction, public transport improvements, local air quality and carbon emissions.

 

"We are delighted to welcome Emma to our global leadership team. The significance of her appointment demonstrates the size of our ambition. Emma is one of our industry's most prominent figures with a tremendous track record of operating and delivering significant transformation across a range of large, multi-sector organisations and will play an integral role in accelerating our own global growth ambitions. Emma's role in overseeing Heathrow's transition to become one of the world's leading infrastructure operators will be very relevant as we continue to support our clients' deliver major complex programmes." said David Whysall, Chief Operating Officer at Turner & Townsend. 

Gilthorpe will work directly with Whysall in executing the company's global strategy, developing solutions for clients across real estate, infrastructure, energy and natural resources, with a particular focus on AI and technology adoption across the operating platform.

 

"I am excited to be joining a fantastic business which I had first-hand experience of as a client during my time at Heathrow. I am looking forward to working with a great team of people at what is a pivotal time in the company's growth journey." said Gilthorpe.