New MD for Stagecoach West announced

Stagecoach has today (29 May 2024) announced the appointment of Chris Hanson to lead its bus operations in the West of England. Chris, currently Operations Director of Stagecoach West, is to take over as Managing Director of Stagecoach West from 1 June.

A key part of Chris’s role will be to focus on the company’s key local stakeholders across the West of England covering Bristol, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Swindon and Wiltshire and ensuring the companies’ vision is shared with all local authorities and external stakeholders. With over 1,300 employees across nine depots, Chris will also be focusing on strengthening employee engagement to ensure that the teams delivering for the customer are motivated to exceed expectations for the 36m customer journeys made on the network each year.

Chris joined Stagecoach from First Bus in 2023 having begun his journey as a bus driver before holding a number of senior leadership roles across the company.

Since joining Stagecoach Chris has introduced a new training structure to ensure that the company is recruiting the right calibre of driver and providing an excellent training experience ensuring drivers provide the best possible service to customers across the region. He has also continued to strengthen the operations team to provide a more reliable service to customers.

Chris takes the new role following the departure of Rachel Geliamassi earlier this year. Elisabeth Tasker took up the MD role on an interim basis until Chris’ appointment.

“Communication is a key factor to leading the management teams to continue to always look for the best we can provide to our customers” – Chris Hanson 

Chris said: “I’m really pleased to be taking on the role of MD and am looking forward to working closer with my senior leadership team to keep us moving forward with our ambitions. Communication is a key factor to leading the management teams to continue to always look for the best we can provide to our customers and challenging ourselves to always look to improve.”

“We’re delighted that our customers, stakeholders and employees in the West can continue to benefit from Chris’ deep understanding of the bus industry” – Stagecoach Chief Operating Officer, Sam Greer

Stagecoach Chief Operating Officer, Sam Greer, said: “We’re delighted that our customers, stakeholders and employees in the West can continue to benefit from Chris’ deep understanding of the bus industry.

“We believe that thriving bus services have a critical role to play in local communities and the economy, so we look forward to seeing Chris’s people-first approach support a successful and vibrant local community.

“I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Elisabeth Tasker for leading Stagecoach West over the past six months and wish her well for the future.”