Neil holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Master of Science in Control Engineering and Computer Systems, a Diploma in Management Studies and an MBA. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, a Fellow of the Society of Operations Engineers, and a Fellow of the Institute of Logistics and Transport. In 2005, Neil was awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours List.
In September 1997 Neil was appointed Director of Customer Services of Merseytravel. From September 1998, he was Acting Chief Executive and Director General, the post being confirmed in February 1999.
Before joining Merseytravel, he was an independent transport & engineering consultant working inter alia for the World Bank, for the European Commission on various transportation projects in Europe, and as an Expert Witness for a number of clients in the UK. Prior to that Neil was the Managing Director of Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company Ltd; and before that was Director of Engineering for GM Buses Ltd. He has held various engineering roles within Tyne & Wear PTE (now Nexus).
