James Freeman, Managing Director of First West of England, has been named as the South West Institute of Directors’ Large Company Director of the Year.
The judges commended James' leadership as a “comprehensive, engaging and convincing story of a three-year business transformation”.
They felt James has dealt with a complex array of internal and external issues both strategically and operationally.
First West of England runs 600 vehicles in Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire.
South West Regional Chair Muir McDonald says: “James is clearly a very effective and infectious external influencer at the same time as achieving very convincing operational and financial results.
“The judges felt James has been the prime catalyst and driver of bringing a 'traditional' public bus service very much into the 21st century, and pressing all the right societal, environmental, customer, shareholder and community buttons.”
James is a lifelong busman. He joined First West of England in 2014 from Reading Buses, which had also flourished under his leadership.
