David Goldstone CBE was announced this week as the Chief Executive of the Delivery Authority, which will commission and execute the work to restore and renew the Palace of Westminster.   

He will lead the team of architects, engineers, project managers, conservation specialists and contractors who will shape the future direction of the work, which is the biggest and most complex renovation of a heritage building ever undertaken in the UK. 

David is currently the Chief Operating Officer at the Ministry of Defence (MoD), where he is in charge of the delivery of the Department’s transformation programme and the development of its Operating Model. He is also a member of the Boards of each Military Command and of Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S).

The appointment was made by the Delivery Authority Chair-Designate with the consent of the shadow Sponsor Board. David is expected to take up his new role as Chief Executive in April 2020.   

In October last year, Mike Brown, currently Commissioner of Transport for London (TfL), was announced as Chair of the Board for the Delivery Authority, and will join in May. David will also sit on the Board of the Delivery Authority as one of two executive directors.

The Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme has been established to tackle the significant work that needs to be done to protect the heritage of the Palace of Westminster and ensure it can continue to serve as home to the UK Parliament in the 21st century and beyond. 

The shadow Sponsor Body was established in 2018, to set the scope, budget and timescale of the Restoration and Renewal Programme, and oversee a Delivery Authority with the technical expertise to execute the work.    

Last year Parliament passed The Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019 which sets out in law how the work will be carried out under this two-tier governance system. The legislation provides for a six-month transition period, with the governing bodies being set up in the Spring of 2020. The structure is similar to the 2012 London Olympics and other successful infrastructure projects. 

Prior to his role at the MoD, David was the Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, where he was responsible for the delivery of the regeneration legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games.

In the period running up to and during the London Olympics, David was the Finance and Programme Director, responsible for the successful delivery of the Games within the £9.3bn budget, and balancing funding between Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and legacy requirements.

At Transport for London, where David was Chief Financial Officer, he was responsible for the financial administration of the organisation, with a budget totalling £9bn.

David Goldstone said of his appointment: 

“I am hugely excited at the prospect of leading the delivery of this historic project to protect and renew the home of our parliamentary democracy and much-cherished symbol of our national identity.”

Liz Peace, Chair of the shadow Sponsor Board, said of David’s appointment: 

“We welcome the wealth of expertise and skills that David will bring from his time at the helm of major UK public-sector investment programmes. He has an exemplary track record of delivery and his appointment is an enormous boost to the Restoration and Renewal Programme.”