National Express (NX) has announced the appointment of Sir John Armitt as Chairman, with effect from February 1, 2013.
In addition to being the recent Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, Sir John is Deputy Chairman of Berkeley Group and a member of the TfL Board. He was Chairman of the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council until March 31, 2012. From 2001 to 2007 he was CEO of Network Rail and its predecessor, Railtrack. In 1997 he was appointed as CEO of Costain, a position he held until 2001. Before this he was CEO of Union Railways, the company responsible for development of the high speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link and previously spent 27 years at John Laing plc rising to become Chairman of the Laing International and Civil Engineering Divisions. Sir John will join the Board as a Non-Executive Director on January 1, 2013 and then take over as Chairman on February 1. Sir John will join the Nomination and Safety and Environment Committees from January 1, before being appointed Chairman of the Nomination Committee from February 1.
John Devaney has been Chairman of NX since April 2009 and announced in July his intention to retire from the Board in order to focus on his other business commitments.
Tim Score, Senior Independent Director, said: “Sir John has an strong international track record and extensive knowledge of the UK transport sector. I would like to thank John Devaney for his significant contribution as Chairman, in particular his role in turning the company around and establishing a strong base from which to generate growth. Sir John will oversee this next phase as we develop opportunities across the US, Europe and North Africa to drive medium-term growth.”
Sir John Armitt said: “I am very pleased to join National Express Group as its Chairman, a company that is respected internationally for the quality of its services. I would like to pay tribute to John Devaney for his Chairmanship.”
