Outgoing Stagecoach Yorkshire Managing Director Phil Medlicott returned to his Wirral roots in early February by revisiting Rock Ferry depot near Birkenhead, the location where his bus industry career started 39 years ago as a cash clerk.
Mr Medlicott will retire in March. While Rock Ferry is now within the Stagecoach Merseyside, Cheshire and South Lancashire business, it was part of National Bus Company subsidiary Crosville when he began work there.
Colleagues gave him a tour of the facility and they had present a preserved Leyland National that was once part of the Crosville fleet to mark the occasion. It was equipped with a destination display marking Mr Medlicott’s pending retirement. Also on hand were old Almex and Setright ticket machines.
Mr Medlicott later became a driver with Crosville before moving into management roles with operators on Wirral and in Runcorn and London. He then joined Stagecoach in 2000 as Operations Director in the South and subsequently in Managing Director roles in Warwickshire, the South East and the North East.
After a two-year period as MD of First Manchester, Mr Medlicott returned to Stagecoach in 2018 to lead its Midlands business before becoming MD of Stagecoach Yorkshire in February 2020. In that role he will be succeeded by Matt Kitchin, who joins from Stagecoach Manchester.
Says Mr Medlicott: “I have had a really enjoyable and rewarding career in the bus industry and most of it has been as part of the Stagecoach family. In all of the roles that I’ve had, what has stood out for me has been the people I have been fortunate to work with, from our fantastic frontline employees to the great support teams and managers around them.
“I have made many life-long friends along the way, and I would like to thank everybody for their kind wishes and for all the surprises they had for me at Birkenhead.”
Adds Stagecoach UK MD Carla Stockton-Jones: “Thanks to all those involved in making this a special day for Phil – and thanks again Phil for your many years of leadership in Stagecoach right across the country.”
