Go-Ahead appoints Louise Cheeseman

Go-Ahead has announced the appointment of experienced transport leader Louise Cheeseman.

Louise is to join the board of the Go-Ahead Group as a Non-Executive Director, effective from 1 July. The addition of Louise as a new Director is intended to support the company’s strategic plan to grow its business within the UK and internationally, ensure greater diversity in thinking while also strengthening the Board with internationally recognised industry expertise and experience.

Louise brings a wealth of experience to her new role. Starting her career in rail operations, she led Hull Trains as Managing Director for over four years from 2017. Her most recent role in the industry was as Director of Bus at TfL from 2021 to 2024. In 2023 Louise founded Women in Bus and Coach (WiBC), a national network created to encourage, represent, support and retain women in the bus and coach profession. She remains Chair of the network.

Go-Ahead became a member of WiBC this year as it launched its Go-Ahead Women campaign, aiming to achieve gender diversity by 2035, which commenced with a target of recruiting 1,500 women over the next 18 months and committing more than £16m investment for training women and investing in places of work.

“Her knowledge and experience is unrivalled” – Miguel Parras, Group CEO of Go-Ahead

Miguel Parras, Group CEO of Go-Ahead, said: “We are delighted to welcome Louise to her role on the Board of the Go-Ahead Group. Her knowledge and experience is unrivalled, and Louise will play a vital role in supporting our management team to deliver its strategic plan of growth, achieving our ambitious decarbonisation and equality targets, and most importantly, delivering on our mission of connecting people and communities across the globe, both today and tomorrow.”