Mike Forster is a highly respected infrastructure, aviation, and strategic development executive with more than four decades of experience leading major airport, transportation, and architectural projects across the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Throughout his career, Mike has held senior leadership positions with organizations including BAA Ltd./Heathrow Airport Ltd., Forster Associates, Urban-Air Port, and EERO. Prior to becoming an independent consultant and advisory board member, he spent over a decade at BAA, where he led business strategy, masterplanning, infrastructure development, and large-scale airport transformation initiatives for Heathrow and other major UK airports. Earlier in his career, Mike was a Partner at Sheppard Robson Architects, where he specialized in commercial, educational, medical research, and healthcare projects. His extensive expertise spans airport masterplanning, infrastructure strategy, project evaluation, sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and operational development.    

Over the course of his career, Mike has led and advised on some of the world’s most significant airport and infrastructure projects. At Heathrow Airport, he played a central role in leading the Third Runway programme, managing government relations, stakeholder engagement, business strategy, and long-term airport masterplanning. He also served as Design and Development Director for Heathrow Terminal 5, where he was responsible for defining the operational and infrastructure brief for one of the largest airport development projects in Europe. Through Forster Associates, Mike advised on major international projects including the masterplanning of Narita Airport in Tokyo, Hamad International Airport in Doha, Hong Kong International Airport’s future development strategy, Crossrail in London, and multiple large-scale airport expansion and peer review projects worldwide. His work has consistently focused on balancing operational excellence, passenger experience, commercial performance, sustainability, and long-term strategic growth.    

Outside of his executive and advisory work, Mike is known for his thoughtful leadership style, strategic insight, and ability to bring together complex stakeholder groups to deliver transformational projects. Based in the United Kingdom outside of London, he continues to advise infrastructure and aviation organizations globally as an independent consultant and advisory board member. Mike studied architecture at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, where he earned both his degree and postgraduate qualifications before becoming a Registered Architect. In addition to his professional work, he has served in numerous academic and industry leadership roles, including Adjunct Professor at Imperial College Business School and positions with the British Aviation Group, the CBI London Council, and several UK infrastructure and aviation advisory panels.