Upfront As his term as chair of the BPA Board comes to an end, Nigel Williams looks back on the highs and lows, and forward to whats to come next for our Association Onwards and upwards I chaired my first BPA Board meeting in August 2016. I was very confident; after all, I had chaired literally thousands of meetings in my career. The main agenda item that day was the question of whether the BPAs Approved Operator Scheme (AOS) should be split off from the BPA. Emotions ran high and at the end of meeting, when I asked my Board colleagues to score my performance out of 10, Gary Osner gave me a three. It was perhaps a little harsh, but it served as a lesson chair of the BPA is a complex and difficult role. Ever since, I have worked hard to improve my score. It has been an honour and a privilege to help steer our Association through what has been a period of significant change, sustained growth and success. We have weathered the pandemic and helped our members do the same. Financially, we are in a good place. Our reserves have increased by 250k. Our membership is at an all-time high, with 750 members. However, as Bob Dylan sang, the times they are a-changing.... The pandemic brutally accelerated the pace of change in our society. It turbocharged our use of technology. Almost overnight, we all became digital nomads, working from our kitchens, living rooms or garden sheds. We now participate in virtual meetings and order everything, from food to a new car, online with an expectation of delivery within minutes, hours or a few days. That shared experience has changed the dynamics and economics of our sector, along with many others. In line with the quality of service provided by other sectors, motorists increasingly expect a seamless and consistent customer experience to help them locate parking and park in a compliant manner. We must deliver that experience. At the same time, we need to recognise that climate change is an existential threat. Sustainability will be the central consideration for everything we do. We stand at the beginning of the journey to a low-carbon, sustainable future that will inevitably look very different from todays established norms. The role of the car, car ownership and parking are being questioned as never before. Our sector is facing big challenges. However, there are also many exciting new opportunities: kerbside management, the transition to electric vehicles, integration with mobility as a service (MaaS), active travel, and so on. To survive and flourish, we must adapt and change. I would like to thank my fellow Board and Council members, Andrew Pester and our brilliant BPA staff team, and most importantly you, our members, for your support throughout my tenure as chair. I wish my successor, Anjna Patel, success and luck. Im sure where we head next will be even more interesting than where we have been. Nigel Williams Chair of the BPA Board, 2016-22 3 14:16 PN June 2022 pp02-03 Upfront.indd 3 24/05/2022 11:24