I am Mieszko Iwaskow, a 32 year old Transport Planner who is currently working and living in Aetora New Zealand. Having moved to New Zealand in 2006 as a transport planner I have progressed into the position of Transport Planning Manager for the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) in Auckland and Northland.

From a young age I have always had an interest in people, places, travel and transport. Growing up I regularly travelled from my childhood home of Bishop Auckland to different cities around the United Kingdom and Europe. Therefore, it was no surprise that the study of the urban environment and transport became my career path with my first degree in Urban and Regional Geography at Sheffield Hallam University followed by a Masters in Transport Planning and Management.

Whilst completing my MSc I was offered my first opportunity on the career ladder at WSP Group. As a consultant in the private sector I was fortunate enough to work on a wide variety of projects from planning roles with Local Authorities through to being part of the consultant team working in Bucharest, Romania on the development of an Urban Traffic Control System for the city.

In 2006 I was offered the opportunity to move to New Zealand into the client side working for the NZTA in their Highways and Network Operations Group who are responsible for the delivery, operation and maintenance of the National State Highway network in New Zealand. My time at the NZTA has seen me grow as a project manager, leader and person through management and involvement in a number of major transport infrastructure projects for New Zealand. In 2013 I was appointed to the role of Transport Planning Manager for Auckland and Northland which involves a range of responsibilities including leadership and management of the transport planning team, project development on a number of key infrastructure projects in the region and relationship development with key stakeholders across New Zealand.

Whilst in New Zealand I have also been able to take more of an active involvement in CILT. In October 2012 I was fortunate to be awarded the NZ Young Achiever of the year which gave me the opportunity to attend the CILT International in Sri Lanka where I was one of the runners up for the 2013 International award. In June 2013 I was nominated in as Chair for the CILT NZ Northern Section. As a young professional in CILT I have a keen interest in helping to engage and develop other young professionals across the industry. This will be one of my key focuses in 2014 as well as getting to know my first daughter Aniela May Iwaskow who was born the week before Christmas.