Our Team       

Kevin Farquharson MA MIEE CEng, Managing Director – Kevin’s background is in managing multi-million pound projects and contracts for blue chip companies in transportation, utility, telecoms and oil industries.

After reading engineering at Cambridge, he was elected a Chartered Engineer and to full membership of the IEE. He worked in telecoms before moving into IT consultancy and project management. He has recently been responsible for the management and implementation of Waltham Forest Council’s new multi-application smart card, OneCard. Kevin is currently assisting Waltham Forest, Hillingdon and Lewisham councils in the rollout of their multi-application resident cards.

He has previously advised Chester City Council as the council upgraded to the latest NSCP software release, extending the use of the existing card applications and adding more applications to the smart card. He has also been responsible for developing and delivering NSCP Smart Card Workshops, assessing IEG4 responses and Local Authority plans in respect of smart card and producing a report for DfT on smart card Hosting.

Kevin is Co-Chair of the Smart Card Networking Forum and an active member of the Transport Card Forum (TCF) and ITSO Suppliers Group. Kevin Farquharson has served as Chair of the TCF Working Group 12 for Smart Card Hosting systems which is tasked to provide guidance to DfT on the form of back office clearing and settlement for Transport Schemes.

Kevin created Smartran to bring the best skills and experience to bear on smart card initiatives, electronic payment mechanisms and financial settlement systems. Having project managed the introduction of major new settlement systems for the rail industry and advised senior decision makers in ATOC and the SRA (Strategic Rail Authority now part of the DFT) on the future use of those systems, he is uniquely placed to advise organisations on the application of smart card technology.

Philip Weerakody B.Eng (Hons 1st), Business, Principal Consultant – Philip commenced his career in 1995 with FTSE 100 company BHP Billiton. Having started in software development and analysis, Philip has a strong understanding of software design methodologies and requirements. During his career Philip has worked in a number of industries including oil & gas, finance and transport. His area of expertise is in system and business analysis for large scale IT projects.

Philip has extensive experience in smart card schemes and has worked on the design and implementation of projects including Singapore (Ez-link), Manchester (Readycard), Wales (SWWITCH), Bracknell (Edge Card) and Buckinghamshire (Bucks Edge).

Philip has been engaged by ITSO to provide technical consultancy support and input to the technical standards.

Steve Beecroft ACIB, Principal Consultant –  Steve spent 14 years developing and implementing plastic card solutions in the Financial Services arena, with Lloyds TSB, American Express, Barclaycard, Centrica, First Data Europe and other multinationals.

Steve was invited by the Office of Culture and Communities (Formerly the ODPM) to join the Interoperability Working Group for Smart Cards and Smart Card Security where he co-authored several briefing papers and developed the current standards table for all government supported smart card schemes which is an integral part of the e-GIF.

Public sector assignments undertaken by Steve include the National Smart Card Project, Advantage Card for Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, Citizens Card Community setup for Cambridgeshire County Council and various consulting roles with Northumberland County Council, North West Development Agency (NWDA), e-Government Unit – formally the Office of the e-Envoy, Cornwall County Council, Portsmouth Borough Council and Adventure Unlimited (Charity).

A qualified ISO 9001 auditor, Steve is well equipped to design and implement smart media solutions from both a technical and operational perspectives.

Maddy Coates MSc , Principal Consultant –  - Maddy is an experienced project manager with a background in organisational change and operational analysis for Post Office Counters Ltd. As an internal consultant Maddy worked on operations, marketing and retail on a variety of products, Maddy reported directly to the Director of Organisation and Resources reorganisation steering group.

She was seconded to a reorganisation team which scoped, designed, implemented and reviewed a new structure. Maddy was instrumental in setting up a five year project to automate counter positions.

Maddy worked on the London Connects Business Case and is currently working with Smartran to implement the Hillingdon Resident Card and rollout the London Borough of Waltham Forest OneCard into secondary schools.

Jeanine de Groot - Jeanine is an experienced Business Consultant with particular experience in banking and PFI structured finance. She brings broad experience in business case development, return on investment and project planning.

Jeanine has worked extensively in the world of finance including consulting ING Bank where she was responsible for the sale and implementation of the ING Electronic Banking system corporate client base. She became the Vice President of ING Lease International where she was dealing with ‘Big Ticket’ lease and cross border structured finance transactions. She was responsible for a portfolio of clients including British Airways Plc, TAP air Portugal, Canadian Helicopters and Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A.

Jeanine’s international career has brought her to the UK where she now works with Smartran implementing a number of projects.

Erika Vincent, Marketing Director and Business Development. Erika is a director of Smartran Ltd and has been instrumental in the company’s success, particularly in it’s undertakings in Local Authority schemes.

Previous business experience includes advertising and marketing campaigns for the Young & Rubicam Advertising Agency, Wunderman Worldwide and TV Production with The Travelling Matte Company. In the past Erika has been involved in Board level sales and marketing campaigns for British Gas, IBM, Dell, Compaq, BBC and Kraft Foods. Erika also has extensive experience within the entertainment industry and her career has taken her to the English National Opera, The Royal National Theatre and The West End and well as films and TV. Erika also has experience as a Director, Performer, Choreographer and Executive Producer for several successful musicals and plays. Erika regularly coaches business professionals on presentation and voice techniques.

Erika also owns and runs The Biz Group which is a youth theatre company in Surrey. One of the aims of The Biz is to promote self-confidence, healthy eating and a strong work ethic among young people. Erika promotes positive attitudes and community spirit by giving all profits from performances to local children’s charities. So far The Biz has raised over £17,000 for charity.

Major Assignments with Smartran
• Capital Ambition London Card Feasibility Study (Culture Pass)    

• London Borough of Lewisham OneCard Internal Consultant
• London Borough of Waltham Forest One Card Internal Consultant
• London Borough of Hillingdon – Hillingdon First Card Internal Consultant
• London Borough of Barking & Dagenham – Resident Card Feasibility Study Internal Consultant

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Smartran can draw on a pool of specialist consultants. Resources recently assigned on Smartran projects include:

Dr Umar Khan-Cheema PhD – Project manager, information security and smart card systems consultant.

Darren Michael – IT security, transport smart card application, test planning and ITSO consultancy.

 Steve Benson – Requirement definition, acceptance test planning, ticketing system consultancy.

 Mark Conway – Transformational analyst providing project support and solution analysis on our client assignments.

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       Our Team