In our From the Frontline season, Project journal editor Emma De Vita is meeting professionals who are working on cutting-edge projects, and academics whose research is at the forefront of project management techniques.

In this first episode, we meet Nick Elliott, who was director general of the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce for the UK government from its inception in April 2020 until the end of last year. Before that he was an army bomb disposal expert, MD of Network Rail’s national supply chain and deputy CEO of Defence Equipment & Support at the Ministry of Defence. He is now a director at consultancy Turner & Townsend and a Fellow of APM.

Nick and Emma spoke in early May about the brief he was handed at the UK Vaccine Taskforce – ‘to make things happen’, which must surely be the understatement of the year.