Tom Bridges
About Tom Bridges
Tom Bridges is the Leeds Office Leader and Director Cities Advisory at Arup and a Director at NorthInvest, with a background in urban policy and economic development.
Title
Tom Bridges holds the position of Leeds Office Leader and Director Cities Advisory at Arup. His experience manifests through leadership roles in various other organizations and projects related to urban policy and economic development.
Previous Roles at Arup
Tom Bridges has an extensive history with Arup, where he served initially as an Associate Director from 1999 to 2012. In his current role as Leeds Office Leader and Director Cities Advisory, he has been instrumental in guiding the Leeds office through significant changes. His responsibilities have included leading major cultural change programs in digital transformation, client relationships, and diversity and inclusion, as well as overseeing the operation and estates planning for the Leeds and York offices, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leadership and Strategy Roles
Tom Bridges has consistently held leadership roles in various organizations. As Joint Leader of the planning business in the North West and Yorkshire at Arup, he supervises around 100 professionals across diverse fields. Additionally, he is part of the management team overseeing about 1200 staff across six offices. Previously, he served as the Chief Officer Economy and Regeneration at Leeds City Council from 2012 to 2017 and brought substantial contributions to strategic economic planning.
Involvement in Economic Growth Initiatives
Tom Bridges has been active in roles that focus on local economic growth and urban development. He chaired the User Panel at the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth from 2015 to 2017. His efforts are further reflected in his assignment for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, where he leads vision and strategy as well as economic development to support 100 towns in England through the Stronger Towns Fund.
Educational Background
Tom Bridges has a robust educational foundation, having studied at the University of Bristol where he earned his BSc in Geography from 1992 to 1995 and an MSc in Society and Space (Human Geography / Urban and Regional Studies) from 1995 to 1996. He further honed his expertise at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, completing the Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme between 2018 and 2020.