Sir John Armitt is the Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission. In September 2013, Sir John published an independent review on long term infrastructure planning in the UK. The recommendations in the Armitt Review received widespread support and resulted in the creation of the National Infrastructure Commission in 2015.

After leaving John Laing plc in 1993, where Sir John had been Chairman of Laing’s International and Civil Engineering divisions, he became Chief Executive of Union Railways. In 1997 he became Chief Executive of Costain, a position he held until 2001, when he became Chief Executive of Railtrack (later Network Rail) until 2007. From 2007 he was Chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority responsible for delivering the venues for London 2012; thereafter Sir John served as Chairman of National Express Group from 2012 through to 2022, and as Chairman of City and Guilds between 2010 and 2020.