Walton to step down from Bombardier


Colin Walton, 60, is to retire from his post as chairman and chief country representative of Bombardier Transportation UK in February 2012. Walton (pictured below) joined Bombardier in 1991, as director of new projects, stepping up to his current role in 2002. Paul Roberts has been


promoted to chief country representative and president of Bombardier Transportation, Services UK and Passenger Fleet Management Service Line. Roberts, 45, joined Bombardier in 2009 as vice president of Services UK. Sir Neville Simms has been


appointed as non-executive chairman. Simms, 67, is currently deputy chairman of International Power plc and Chairman of the Building Research Establishment Trust. He was previously chairman of Carillion.


André Navarri, president


and chief operating officer, Bombardier Transportation said, ‘I would like to thank Colin Walton for his significant efforts on behalf of Bombardier, and to express our appreciation for his unwavering dedication and commitment to Bombardier Transportation over the past 20 years. We wish him well in his retirement.’


Go-Ahead makes three senior appointments n


Go-Ahead has named Patrick Verwer, as the new managing director of London Midland, replacing


Mike Hodson, who is to retire at the end of the year. Verwer, 51, is currently Go-Ahead’s managing director of rail development. He came to the UK in 2002 to head up the Serco/Netherlands Railways Merseyrail concession in Liverpool, following 10 years in executive roles on Dutch railways. David Brown, Go-Ahead’s group chief executive


said: ‘Patrick Verwer has huge experience, first class management skills, and a strong track record of delivery. He is the right person to drive through further transformation in the London Midland franchise. ‘We have already seen a range of service and


performance improvements in this franchise. I know that Patrick, and the excellent team in place at London Midland, will work hard to build on these achievements


in order to offer the best possible service to passengers.’ Alex Hynes, currently commercial director of


London Midland, is to replace Verwer as managing director of rail development. Hynes, 34, has been at London Midland as


commercial director since November 2007 when Govia took over the franchise. Prior to that, he was a member of Go-Ahead’s bid team.


He said: ‘I am delighted to take up this challenging


role. Go-Ahead is a strong and growing company with a real commitment to rail and I am looking forward to playing a key role in securing new opportunities for the business.’


Meanwhile Gillian Singh, 47, has been appointed as


the new group marketing director by Go-Ahead. She has worked with Go-Ahead Group on a consultancy basis for more than three years.


GB Railfreight contract team restructured


n


GB Railfreight has made a series of new appointments to its Contract Management team. Phil Webster, 52, is to lead the team as head of contract management. He was previously head of coal. Neil Richardson, 48, becomes


head of Bulk Services. He joins the company from the consultancy OnTrak. His job will see him looking after the commercial aspects of several large contracts, including Simms Metals, Tata Steal and Petrochem Carless. Julie Hayden, 51, takes


up the new role of contract


pricing and administration manager. She previously worked at DB Schenker in contract administration and finance roles. A further new team member,


Amanda Wilson, will be joining as head of coal from DB Schenker in the new year. GBRf managing director John


Smith said: ‘The changes, in part, recognise the outstanding business growth that Phil has achieved in the coal market – GBRf are now handling 25 per cent of coal moved by rail. ‘That’s an impressive 10 per cent increase in around two years.’


VERSTER IS HEAD OF DEVOLVED LNE ROUTE


n


Phil Verster is route director


of the newly devolved London North Eastern route for Network Rail.


Verster, 42, was


previously deputy CEO and chief engineer at Irish Rail. He says: ‘This is a significant change for


the way we manage the railway. ‘Instead of


segregated teams reporting to various head office functions on operations, electrification, signalling, track and structures, we will now have local autonomy and a local focus.’


Keolis names new chair


Sir Mike Hodgkinson has been appointed chairman of Keolis UK, the international transport operator majority owned by French rail operator SNCF. Hodgkinson, 67, is on the


board of Transport for London and is a non-executive director of Crossrail, as well as having served as a member of the Commission for Integrated Transport between 2001 and 2007. He has held other senior roles, including those of managing director at Land Rover and chairman of Post Office Ltd. Keolis has prequalified


for the InterCity West Coast Franchise, for which bidding is set to commence in early 2012. The company also co-owns


Govia with the GoAhead Group, which operates the Southeastern, Southern and London Midland, franchises. Alistair Gordon, chief


executive of Keolis UK, said: ‘Sir Mike has an unprecedented wealth of experience in the transport sector. At Keolis UK, we have a strong vision for the future of UK rail and light rail, making him the ideal person to join us.’


DECEMBER 2011 PAGE 39


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