Allison Gaynor Ingram was born in 1964 and studied at the University of Southampton. She became a Management Trainee in British Rail: Southern Region in 1986. She then worked as Station Manager at Grove Park from 1987, and then became Assistant Area Operations Manager at Brighton in 1989. From 1990 to 1994 she worked as Service Group Manager for Regional Railways Wales & West. In 1994 she joined the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising as Franchise Executive, serving in this capacity until 1997. She was appointed as Director Planning for Virgin Rail Group in 1997, before joining Stagecoach Rail and working there between 1999 and 2005. From 2005 to 2019 she undertook freelance consultancy.