The Board of the Go-Ahead Group plc has appointed Christian Schreyer, 53, as Group Chief Executive with effect from the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on 5 November 2021. He will join the Group on 1 November.
It follows David Brown’s decision to retire from the role by the end of the year.
Mr Schreyer, a German national, has been working for Transdev, the public transport operator, since 2014, most recently as CEO North and Central Europe.
He says: “While digital disruption and the COVID-19 pandemic have been giving the transport market a difficult time, the industry faces many opportunities. I am convinced that we will find the right answers to these challenges together.”
He was a member of the Executive Committee and has led the development and transformation of multi modal operations across 7 countries with 26,000 colleagues.
When Chief Strategy and Performance Officer for the Group he diversified Transdev from B2C transport businesses by expanding on its work with regional and local governments including developing end to end transport solutions such as Mobility as a Service (MaaS).
Prior to Transdev, Christian worked for more than 15 years for Deutsche Bahn Group in roles including Head of Corporate Strategy, and he was a member of Deutsche Bahn’s mergers and acquisitions committee.
Clare Hollingsworth, The Go-Ahead Group plc Chairman said: “He joins us at a time when we are responding to the effects of the pandemic, fundamental shifts in government policy but also the opportunity to be part of the solution to climate change and towards Net Zero.
“Christian’s record of driving efficiency and better service for passengers and clients, his experience of international markets and innovation in urban mobility, will enable our business to respond well to the challenges and opportunities ahead.
“While the Board looks forward to working with Christian as our new CEO, it renews its thanks to David Brown for the job he has done leading the Group for the last 10 years.”
David will step down as Group Chief Executive and from the Board at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on 5 November 2021 and retire from Go-Ahead at the end of the year to support a smooth transition.
About Go-Ahead
Go-Ahead is one of the leading public transport operators in the UK, connecting communities through bus and rail services. Our purpose is to be the local partner taking care of journeys that enhance the lives and wellbeing of our communities across the world.
We employ more than 30,000 people across our bus and rail businesses in the UK, Singapore, Ireland, Norway and Germany. In addition to the travelling public, our customers include governments and local authorities. We are committed to tackling climate change, poor air quality and social isolation.
Go-Ahead is one of the UK’s largest bus operators. We run a fleet of nearly 6,000 buses across England and run a quarter of London’s buses for Transport for London. Outside London, we serve high-density commuter markets in the North East, Greater Manchester, East Yorkshire, Oxfordshire, East Anglia, the South East and the South West of England. We also operate a bus contract in Singapore and two bus contracts in Ireland.
We operate rail franchises in the UK, Germany and Norway. We operate the largest rail operations in the UK – Southeastern and GTR (Southern, Gatwick Express, Great Northern and Thameslink). This is managed through our 65 per cent owned subsidiary Govia, which is 35 per cent owned by Keolis. In Germany and Norway, our contracts are run exclusively by Go-Ahead.
