Great Western Railway - Directors and management team (merged posts, ongoing updates)

[whole diary]

[SDS]

The managerial structure has been changed yet again in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) land.

At PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) for example we now have a General Manager (a woman called claire), then a regional manager east (shaun mcbroom) and some other side managers who I dont know yet.

I suspect the same will be true of central, west and north.

[JayMac]

No he's not

Care to tell us what he is then? 

[ChrisB]

At PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) for example we now have a General Manager (a woman called claire), then a regional manager east (shaun mcbroom)

Sean McBroom who was SM at Reading (he's still on the posters there) & Claire Mann.

I suspect the same will be true of central, west and north.

Correct, except there isn't any North. Just East, Central & West.

[the void]

Ok, so here's how it works...

Previously there was a Head of Sations, with three Area Managers (West, Central & East) reporting directly to him, with the Stations Managers reporting to their relevant Area Manager. In an ill-advised re-org, the Area Managers were removed and the Station Managers all reported directly to the Head of Stations. The Head of Stations suddenly realised he had 18 direct reports, rather than the previous three and that it simply wasn't workable, so some Station Managers were rebranded 'Senior Station Managers' simply to reduce the number of direct reports to the Head of Stations. But this caused more problems as the egos of the 'Senior' managers were inflated into believing they were 'Area Managers' but they weren't. Time for another re-org...
This time it was the Head of Stations position that was removed. Three new General Managers were created for each region - David Crome in the West, Steve Tyler in Central and Claire Mann in the East. The General Managers are responsible for everything in their region and reporting to them are the new area managers for stations, guards, drivers etc. The station area managers are known as Retail Managers, but they are essentially the same as the old station Area Managers. The three regional Retail Managers are - Lee Edworthy in the West, Mike Holmes in Central and Sean McBroom in the East. They are resonsible for all things station within their region and the Station Managers report to them. The current Station Manager at Temple Meads (and outstations) is Glyn Beck. Glyn reports to Mike, who reports to Steve. Simples.

[ChrisB]

So, having gone from removing one layer of management (the old Area Managers), they hasve now managed to ADD^▸ (Automatic Dropping Device) a layer (the General Managers) - am I right?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for that very useful explanation, the void - and welcome to the Coffee Shop forum! 

[JayMac]

Thank you for that comprehensive explanation, the void, and a very warm welcome to the Coffee Shop forum.  

I asked Glyn Beck the other day what role Mike Holmes now had and he said he was an Area Manager! Retail Manager seems an odd choice of name.

[Ollie]

So, having gone from removing one layer of management (the old Area Managers), they hasve now managed to ADD^▸ (Automatic Dropping Device) a layer (the General Managers) - am I right?

Sort of, except there is now no head of stations role. So the General Manager is in charge of there own area.
In all honesty I've not actually met my general manager, so no idea how involved they get.

[JayMac]

From FirstGroup's corporate website:

FirstGroup has appointed Richard Parry to its rail bid team. Richard joins FirstGroup from Transport for London (TfL^» (Transport for London - about)) where he worked for 19 years in a range of senior roles, most recently as Deputy Managing Director and Director of Strategy and Commercial for TfL^s London Underground and Rail divisions. Richard has a outstanding record of leadership and delivery with a strong focus on customer service and considerable experience of engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders which will be invaluable in his new role heading the Group's bid for the InterCity West Coast franchise.

Commenting on the appointment Vernon Barker, Managing Director UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Rail, said:

"I am delighted to have attracted someone of Richard's talent and calibre to the Group. The wealth of experience that he brings will be invaluable as we seek to build on our market leadership position in rail and progress the opportunities created by the Department for Transport^s new franchising programme."

Commenting, Richard Parry said:

"As the UK's largest rail operator FirstGroup has unrivalled experience of operating different types of franchises. I am very pleased to be joining the team and look forward to leading the Group's bid for the InterCity West Coast franchise."

[JayMac]

It would appear that there are 8 people in these senior positions
http://www.joinusonthejourney.co.uk/NonCmsPages/our_structure_mark.htm

That list is severely out of date. James Burt left FGW^▸ (First Great Western) in September 2009. Neil Mickelthwaite left in 2010 and Matthew Golton is now apparently back as Bid Director rather than Projects Director, at least according to his LinkedIn profile.

However the two people most likely to hold the 'safety case' are still in position.

The current list of directors can be seen here:

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/About-Us/Our-business/Our-executive-team

And even the list I found may be out of date. 

The previous issue of RAIL magazine (714) reports that FGW Operations Director, Kevin Gale, has been placed on 'gardening leave'. It doesn't expand further as to reasons. Just a three sentence article toward the back of RAIL that I missed on first reading, but one that may be of some significance.

Purely supposition on my part, but I wonder if he is jumping ship to another TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) or has been head-hunted by DOR? 'Gardening/Garden leave' is a euphemism most often used when a company requires an employee to see out a period of notice, but neither wants them to continue doing their current job or to immediately start work in their new job. Especially if they are leaving to join a competitor....

[brizzlechris]

It would appear that there are 8 people in these senior positions
http://www.joinusonthejourney.co.uk/NonCmsPages/our_structure_mark.htm

That list is severely out of date. James Burt left FGW^▸ (First Great Western) in September 2009. Neil Mickelthwaite left in 2010 and Matthew Golton is now apparently back as Bid Director rather than Projects Director, at least according to his LinkedIn profile.

However the two people most likely to hold the 'safety case' are still in position.

The current list of directors can be seen here:

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/About-Us/Our-business/Our-executive-team

And even the list I found may be out of date. 

The previous issue of RAIL magazine (714) reports that FGW Operations Director, Kevin Gale, has been placed on 'gardening leave'. It doesn't expand further as to reasons. Just a three sentence article toward the back of RAIL that I missed on first reading, but one that may be of some significance.

Purely supposition on my part, but I wonder if he is jumping ship to another TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) or has been head-hunted by DOR? 'Gardening/Garden leave' is a euphemism most often used when a company requires an employee to see out a period of notice, but neither wants them to continue doing their current job or to immediately start work in their new job. Especially if they are leaving to join a competitor....

This is Wiltshire had this report at the beginning of the year...

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/10142619.Has_rail_boss_lost_job_over_the_travel_chaos_/

[ChrisB]

Confirmation today that Kevin Gale has left FGW^▸ (First Great Western)

[bobm]

Can we ask where this confirmation has come from?

[ChrisB]

Staff Nerwsletter - FastLine

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for that update, ChrisB: I've taken the opportunity to merge three topics here, purely in the interests of continuity and ease of future reference.