Gianfranco Sgro (pictured) has been named Arriva Group CEO. He will take up that position on 1 October and join the business from Kuehne and Nagel, where he is currently Executive Vice-President for Contract Logistics.
Appointment of Mr Sgro comes after a global search following the departure of previous Arriva Group CEO Mike Cooper in late-2024. Since then, Executive Chairman David Martin has assumed Group CEO responsibilities.
At Kuehne and Nagel, Mr Sgro leads a CHF 5 billion business with around 53,000 full-time equivalent staff across 45 countries. He is also a member of the management board. Before that, he was Chief Operating Officer for Latin America at Pirelli and spent a long period with Ceva Logistics, latterly as COO for South Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Speaking about the appointment of Mr Sgro, Mr Martin says: “I am delighted that Gianfranco is joining Arriva at such an important time for our group.
“His wealth of experience running complex, high-value operational businesses through periods of growth, innovation and change means that he is ideally positioned to lead this company.
“He has an exceptional track record in growth and developing successful businesses, and I am confident that under his leadership, we will strengthen our ambition to be the leading passenger transport partner across Europe.”
Adds Mr Sgro: “It is an incredibly important time for the public transportation sector, which plays a huge role in some the big societal issues like decarbonisation and urbanisation that face the world today.
“I am excited by the tremendous opportunity ahead of us and I am looking forward to working with talented teams across the UK and Europe to deliver against the group’s ambitions.”
Recruitment of Mr Sgro is a further high-profile appointment for Arriva. In August, it saw Martijn Gilbert rejoin as Managing Director of UK Bus in a return to the industry for the former Reading Buses and Go North East man.
