Directorate Change
EMBARGOED UNTIL 7:00am on 21 May 2014
FIRSTGROUP PLC
BOARD CHANGES
FirstGroup plc ("FirstGroup" or the "Group") today announces the following
changes to its Board of Directors, with effect from 24 June 2014.
John Sievwright, Senior Independent Director, David Begg, Non-Executive
Director and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and Colin Hood,
Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Safety Committee, will retire from
the Board.
Warwick Brady, Drummond Hall and Imelda Walsh will be appointed to the Board as
Non-Executive Directors. Drummond will become Senior Independent Director and
Imelda will become Chairman of the Remuneration Committee. Additionally, Jim
Winestock, a current Non-Executive Director, will become Chairman of the Safety
Committee.
John McFarlane, Drummond Hall, Brian Wallace, Imelda Walsh and Jim Winestock
will constitute the members of the Nomination Committee.
Commenting, John McFarlane, Chairman, said:
"I would like to thank John, David and Colin, for their dedication and
contribution to FirstGroup and particularly for their support to me as incoming
Chairman.
"I would also like to welcome Warwick, Drummond and Imelda to the Board at an
important time for the company. I am delighted that such distinguished
directors have placed their faith in us.
"It is a natural process for directors who cease to become independent to
retire and for the Board to be refreshed. It is an essential part of good
governance that we maintain a strong Board with a majority of independent
directors and a balance of skills, knowledge, experience and diversity."
This disclosure is made pursuant to paragraph 9.6.11R of the Financial Conduct
Authority's Listing Rules. There are no other details required to be disclosed
under Listing Rule 9.6.13R.
Biographical information:
Warwick Brady
Warwick Brady is Chief Operations Officer of easyJet plc, joining in May 2009.
He is part of the management team responsible for significantly improving the
airline's financial and operating performance, including achieving
industry-leading punctuality levels as well as the introduction of important
customer innovations. He has significant experience leading low cost airlines
- he was Chief Executive of Indonesian airline Mandala, and previous roles
include Chief Operating Officer of Air Deccan in India and Deputy Operations
Director at Ryanair.
Drummond Hall
Drummond was Chief Executive of Dairy Crest Group plc from 2002 to 2006, prior
to which his career was spent with Procter and Gamble, Mars and PepsiCo. He is
currently the Senior Independent Non-Executive Director of WH Smith plc and a
Non-Executive Director of The Sage Group plc. Drummond was a Non-Executive
Director of Mitchells & Butlers plc from July 2004 to January 2010, and
Chairman from June 2008 to November 2009.
Imelda Walsh
Imelda Walsh currently serves as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the
Remuneration Committees of William Hill plc, Mitchells & Butlers plc and
Mothercare plc. She was a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration
Committee of Sainsbury's Bank plc from 2006 to 2010. Imelda has held senior
executive roles at J Sainsbury plc, where she was Group HR Director from March
2004 to July 2010, Barclays Bank plc and Coca-Cola & Schweppes Beverages
Limited. Imelda is also a Director of the Mentoring Foundation and is a Trustee
of Charity Projects Limited (Comic Relief).
Contacts at FirstGroup:
Rachael Borthwick, Group Corporate Communications Director
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7291 0512 / +44 (0) 7771 945 432
Contacts at Brunswick PR:
Michael Harrison/Andrew Porter, Tel: +44 (0) 207 404 5959
Notes to Editors:
About FirstGroup plc
FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is the leading transport operator in the UK and
North America. With revenues of more than £6.7 billion and around 117,000
employees, we transport more than 2.5 billion passengers every year. Each of
our five divisions is a leader in its field: First Student is the largest
provider of student transportation in North America with a fleet of around
49,000 yellow school buses, First Transit is one of the largest providers of
outsourced transit management and contracting services in the US, while
Greyhound is the only national operator of scheduled intercity coach services
across North America. In the UK, FirstGroup is one of Britain's largest bus
operators running a fleet of some 6,400 buses, and we operate approximately a
quarter of the UK passenger rail network, carrying more than 330 million
passengers a year. Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly
congested world, keeping people moving and communities prospering. Further
information can be found at www.firstgroup.com.