15 Facts About Iain Coucher

Iain Michael Coucher was born on 22 August 1961 and is the chairman of Ofwat, and was formerly the chief executive of the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Iain Coucher has worked as a consultant in the railway industry and held a number of management posts, most notably as the chief executive of Network Rail from 2007 to 2010.

Iain Coucher was brought up in Doncaster and Leeds, where his father, Brian, worked for the electricity generating board.

Iain Coucher originally wanted to be a pilot in the Royal Air Force.

Iain Coucher was educated at Ashville College, a private boarding school in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Iain Coucher was a good tennis player and represented the school tennis team.

Iain Coucher graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science.

Iain Coucher started his working life as an air-to-ground missile designer for Hunting Engineering from 1982, before moving into IT services with the American consultancy group EDS in 1985 which led to working on the Oyster card.

Iain Coucher Pender provided consultancy for the creation of the railway infrastructure company Network Rail following the collapse of Railtrack in 2002.

Iain Coucher was made Deputy Chief Executive of Network Rail in 2002, stepping up to the role of Chief Executive in July 2007 following the retirement of Chief Executive John Armitt.

Iain Coucher announced on 17 June 2010 that he would step down as Chief Executive of Network Rail stating that this was for personal reasons.

Iain Coucher remained in situ while his successor was sought.

In January 2016, Iain Coucher became Chief Executive of Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Iain Coucher married Tanya Nightingale in July 1993 in North Yorkshire.

Iain Coucher enjoys cycling and birdwatching and owns a country house and 173-acre estate by Loch Sween on the Sound of Jura in Scotland which he has named "Iainland".