Sandra Witzel
Board chair and non-executive director across transport, technology and consumer advocacy
I currently chair the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers and serve as a Non-Executive Director and Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee member at Transport Focus, the statutory watchdog for transport users across England, Scotland and Wales.
I have spent over twenty years in technology, transport and consumer advocacy, five of them at board level. My work spans public, charity and global commercial sectors, in organisations of different scale, funding models and accountability. As a disabled person and specialist in inclusive research, I translate lived experience into board insights.
A Bit About Me
I work where governance, technology and accessibility meet. On a board that means scrutiny of digital and AI risk, audit and assurance, and strategic change through periods of transition, alongside a persistent question about whether the people affected by a decision were considered when it was made.
My background is commercial, built over an executive career in transport technology and international growth. Moving into non-executive work has not changed what interests me: organisations tend to make better decisions when the boardroom understands both the technology it is governing and the people it exists to serve.
Areas of Expertise
Board Governance, Audit and Risk
Technology, AI and Cyber Security Governance
Accessibility and Inclusion
Commercial Growth and International Expansion
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Strategy through change: setting direction for organisations going through structural change, new mandates or shifts in funding and operating model.
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Audit and assurance: independent oversight of internal audit programmes, risk frameworks and financial controls. Formal training in board effectiveness and ARAC governance.
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Constructive challenge: scrutinising executive proposals and holding management to account against agreed objectives.
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Digital and AI risk: scrutiny of technology strategy, AI adoption and digital transformation programmes at board level.
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Security and data: cyber security governance, data protection and incident response, including certification and live operational risk registers.
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Technology procurement and delivery: oversight of technology programmes and supplier relationships, informed by years of delivering into public sector and enterprise clients.
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Inclusive design and technology: embedding accessibility as a core product and service principle from the design stage onwards.
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Evidence from users: translating the experience of disabled and older people into insights that boards can act on.
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Lived experience: a disabled person bringing lived perspective directly to product, service and policy decisions.
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Revenue and market growth: commercial strategy through a shift from consumer products into public sector and enterprise markets.
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International operations: working across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, with the regulatory and cultural differences that brings.
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Purpose and certification: taking sustainability and social impact commitments through formal certification.
Current roles
Transport Focus
Research Institute for Disabled Consumers
Women in Mobility UK
#DiversityInTransport EU Initiative
Board Member
Chair
Co-Founder, Trustee
Ambassador
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Chairing through change: leading the RiDC board through a period of organisational transition and strategic reset.
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Governance through statutory transition: contributing to Transport Focus's transition into the statutory Passenger Watchdog under the Railways Bill.
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Board Accessibility Champion: holding the accessibility brief at Transport Focus, ensuring disabled passengers' interests are represented in board decisions.
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Creating Impact: co-founded Women in Mobility UK in 2020 and built it into an established network spanning government, industry, academia and technology.
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Global executive leadership: built and led the commercial function of a transport technology business across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, taking it from consumer products into public sector and enterprise markets.
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International standards work: led the working group on passenger rights and accessibility within the MaaS Alliance, shaping how both are treated in European Mobility-as-a-Service frameworks.
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Recognition: voted one of the 'Most Influential Women in Mobility', 2023.
Notable Achievements & Impact
Disability and Transport
The Freewheeling Podcast
2026
I joined Thomas Ableman on The Freewheeling Podcast to talk about disability and transport. The conversation covers what needs to change if the sector is to stop disabling people, how much real appetite there is to make those changes, and where Mobility-as-a-Service has ended up now the hype has passed.
Women Who Move Nations
The Public Transport Podcast
2025
Joining host Michelle Batsas on Episode 3 of the Women Who Move Nations podcast, we talk about why accessibility, inclusion and sustainability sit at the heart of my work. I share key moments that shaped my leadership journey and how my own experience as a disabled traveller drives my commitment to inclusive mobility. If you’d like to hear the full discussion, you can listen to the episode here:
Driving Governance and Inclusive Growth
I combine governance experience with commercial and marketing acumen gained as a CMO and Executive Director in a global technology business. This combination is useful to boards facing regulatory change who still need to grow, and to organisations where technology risk and consumer interest sit in the same conversation.
My inclusive leadership approach is shaped by lived experience rather than theory. It is the reason I keep coming back to the same question in board discussions: what does this decision actually mean for the person at the end of it?