Shanmugalingam is DfT’s new Permanent Secretary

Jo Shanmugalingam has been appointed as the new Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport, taking over from Bernadette Kelly. 

Shanmugalingam is currently the department’s Second Permanent Secretary, and has been serving as the Interim Permanent Secretary since Kelly left having spent eight years leading the Department. 

The department was advertising the position at a salary bracket of £170-£185,000.

The Cabinet Secretary, with the approval of the Prime Minister, announced her promotion. 

She began her career at the Department for Trade and Industry and spent six years at the Shareholder Executive . Her previous roles include Director General for Science, Innovation and Growth at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, and Strategy Director at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

She spent six years at the Shareholder Executive – now UK Government Investments (UKGI) – where she was responsible for taking the legislation to privatise Royal Mail through Parliament and for the government’s shareholder interests in businesses including National Air Traffic Services Ltd, Post Office Ltd and Ordnance Survey.

Shanmugalingam was appointed as the new Second Permanent Secretary at DfT in May 2023 to take leadership of a number of high-profile areas across DfT, including decarbonising transport. The announcement said “she will lead the transport department as the government rebuilds Britain through growth and investment under the Plan for Change, transforming transport infrastructure across the country and making it easier to build new roads and railways.” 

Cabinet Secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, said “Jo’s valuable experience and impressive track record in delivery make her well suited to lead the department at such an important moment of infrastructure renewal under the Plan for Change - building transport services across the country that boost opportunity and growth for working people.”