First Bus has segmented its operating companies into two portfolios, each with its own Managing Director. The move follows Dave Alexander’s recent decision to step down from the role of Divisional Director due to personal reasons.
MDs of the two portfolios are Andrew Jarvis, currently First Bus MD for Scotland, and Joe Thompson, respectively. Mr Thompson has joined the group having previously held senior roles with airline Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays.
Mr Jarvis’s portfolio is made up of the Cymru, Manchester, Midlands and South Yorkshire, Scotland, West Yorkshire, and York operating companies. Mr Thompson’s consists of the Aircoach, Eastern Counties, Essex, First Travel Solutions, Hampshire Dorset and Berkshire, South West, and West of England subsidiaries. Both men report to First Bus Divisional MD Janette Bell and are complemented by a wider executive team.
A First Bus spokesperson says that the realignment has seen businesses clustered according to the opportunities and challenges that they present. The change “will provide our regional operating company MDs and their teams with more support to deliver better performance and to grow and improve local partnerships, benefiting both customers and colleagues,” they add.
“Our focus remains on providing safe and reliable services for our customers as the UK emerges from the pandemic, and as we refresh our strategy and realign our culture to become truly customer-centric.”
