Stagecoach strengthens senior team with two new Regional Director appointments

Stagecoach is strengthening its senior team with the appointment of two new Regional Directors as part of its new operational structure.

Catherine Acton-Brazier will join as Regional Director North of England from November.  Catherine has spent the last 27 years with BT in roles across retail, wholesale and Openreach, and most recently as Assurance Operations Director. Throughout her career she has led innovation, service improvement, efficiency and change, and was nominated for Northern Powerhouse Transformational Leader 2018.  Catherine will oversee the businesses in Cumbria & North Lancashire, East Midlands, Manchester, Merseyside & South Lancashire, North East and Yorkshire.

Carla Stockton-Jones has been appointed as Regional Director South of England and will also join later this year. Carla has held senior positions with Sky since 2012 as Director of Home Service and previously Director of Retail. Carla will oversee the businesses in the East, Midlands, Oxfordshire, South, South East, South West and West.

Catherine and Carla will join the two existing Regional Directors who cover London (Paul Lynch) and Scotland & Wales (Robert Andrew), to finalise the new senior management structure across Stagecoach Bus.  Each of the Regional Directors reports directly to Mark Threapleton, Chief Operations Officer, and will be responsible for the Managing Directors in each of Stagecoach’s bus businesses.

Separately, Robert Andrew, Regional Director for Scotland & Wales, has announced his intention to retire next year after nearly 35 years working in the transport industry.  Robert joined Stagecoach in 1992 as Operations Manager for Inverness and has held many senior positions across the business. Robert will continue to lead the team in Scotland & Wales until June 2020 whilst the process is underway to appoint a successor.

Mike Watson, who was previously Regional Director for England & Wales, will be moving into a new role with the Business Development team.

Mark Threapleton, Chief Operations Officer for Stagecoach, said: “We’re delighted to be appointing Catherine and Carla to our senior team.  They bring a wealth of knowledge of customer service and innovation from major retail businesses which will complement and broaden the wealth of transport industry experience we currently have in our senior team, helping to bring a fresh perspective to the business.

“The team’s combined skills in the areas of operational excellence, commercial focus, customer service and people engagement will help to ensure we have an agile business with the right shape and clear strategy to meet the opportunities as we move forward.

“I would like to thank Mike for his valuable contribution and leadership and wish him well in his new role.

“I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank Robert for his significant contribution over the past 27 years.  He has been a highly respected member of the team who has built strong relationships with many stakeholders as well as internally. We wish him all the very best for his forthcoming retirement.”   

ENDS