Carla Stockton-Jones has been appointed by Stagecoach as its new UK Managing Director, starting today (1 October) reporting directly to Stagecoach CEO Martin Griffiths.
She succeeds Mark Threapleton, who retired this summer and follows a “thorough competitive process involving internal and external candidates over a number of months.”
Her appointment will be critical to what the PLC says is “business transformation” as Stagecoach “focuses on opportunities ahead.”
Carla becomes the first woman to head Stagecoach’s UK business, which comprises buses, coaches and trams, following the group’s exit from UK rail franchising last year.
She will be responsible for a business with 24,000 people, more than 8,300 buses, coaches and trams and an annual turnover of around £1.3bn.
Although Stagecoach says she is the ‘first woman to head a multi-modal public transport operation in the UK’, that accolade goes to Nicola Shaw CBE, who joined FirstGroup in 2005 as MD of its bus and coach division division. From 2005 – 2010, she was responsible for 25,000 staff in the bus division and £1.3bn, before moving to the rail industry.
“I’m continuing the work to ensure the business has the right shape so we can unlock new opportunities. I want to bring a fresh perspective to the business and ensure we are 100% focused on our current and future customers.”
Carla Stockton-Jones, UK MD, Stagecoach
Carla joined Stagecoach in February 2020 as Regional Director South of England after holding senior positions with Sky since 2012 as Director of Home Service and previously Director of Retail. She has sales and service experience across a range of sectors, including fast-moving consumer goods, media and technology.
Since July 2020, Carla has been Interim UK Managing Director and has been leading Stagecoach’s business transformation programme and Covid-19 recovery plans, including engagement with the Department for Transport around the sector’s transition out of the pandemic.
Stagecoach Chief Executive Martin Griffiths said: “Carla has a proven track record in retail and service roles across a range of highly competitive sectors. She has a passion for delivering large-scale transformation programmes, fostering innovation and motivating teams to deliver results. These qualities will be invaluable as we look to deliver a more agile business supported by a talented and diverse team.
“I’m confident that with our strong leadership and committed frontline people we can come through the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are in a strong position to maximise the significant opportunities for public transport as part of a green recovery, delivering safer, healthier and more prosperous places for people to live.”
Carla Stockton-Jones said: “I’m proud to be heading the UK business as Stagecoach marks 40 years of keeping Britain connected. Stagecoach, its people and its services have made and continue to make a hugely positive impact on our economy, in our communities and in protecting our environment.
“Partnership is more important than ever if we are to give our communities the green transport connections they need. I’m absolutely committed to working closely with national government, the mayors in our biggest city regions, and our local authority partners and other stakeholders to make that happen.
“I’m also looking forward to continuing the work underway to ensure the business has the right shape so we can unlock new opportunities. I want to make the most of the diverse talent we have across Stagecoach, bring a fresh perspective to the business and ensure we are 100% focused on our current and future customers.”
In addition to her company roles, Carla has worked as a member of the Maggie’s cancer care Board since 2016, helping raise awareness and funding for the charity to achieve its vision of having a care centre attached to every NHS hospital in the UK.
About Stagecoach
Stagecoach connects communities in hundreds of locations across the UK, from Orkney in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, to Devon in the south-west of England.
The company and its services underpin more than £1.6billion in economic value to the country’s economy each year, as well as supporting 10,000 jobs in the supply chain and around 1 in 1,000 jobs across the UK, according to independent research carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). ‘How we support Britain’s economy and communities’, published February 2020
Stagecoach is Britain’s biggest bus and coach operator. It runs megabus, the market-leading value coach operator, and Scottish Citylink, which connects 200 locations across Scotland. In Sheffield, it operates the Supertram light rail network.
Its operating areas include London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Sheffield, Oxford and Cambridge, as well as rural locations from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to Wales and south-west England.
Its impact is about far more than transport – it supports the economy, helps cut congestion, protects the environment and air quality, boosts safety on our roads, and contributes to a healthier nation.
