Second Permanent Secretary, Department for Transport (DfT)

Policy Leaders Fellow, Centre for Science and Policy

Jo Shanmugalingam became Second Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport (Dft) in May 2023. She was previously Director General for Science, Innovation and Growth at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) from its creation in February 2023, having originally been appointed in July 2019 as Director General, Industrial Strategy, Science and Innovation in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Before joining BEIS, Jo was Director of Corporate Effectiveness at the Ministry of Defence (MOD), and Strategy Director at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as part of a jobshare with Susannah Storey.

Jo started her career at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). She spent 6 years at the Shareholder Executive (now 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 Post Office Ltd and Ordnance Survey.