David Martin is to retire from the position of Chairman and board member of FirstGroup at an as yet undefined date, the business has announced.
Mr Martin was appointed to both roles in August 2019. He was previously a non-executive director of McGill’s Buses, and prior to that Chief Executive of Arriva. He served around 19 years with Arriva, having taken over leadership of the business in 2006 and overseen its sale to Deutsche Bahn in 2010.
During his time with FirstGroup, Mr Martin has been credited for his contribution to the overhaul of that business via achievements including disposal of operations in North America including the troubled Greyhound undertaking, a major programme of share buybacks, and profit increases.
The First Bus division recently said that it expects to achieve the long-held ambition of a 10% operating margin during the second half of FY2025, having seen strong like-for-like patronage and overall revenue growth in the 53 weeks to 30 March.
Appointment of a new Chair and the transition period are being led by Senior Independent Director Peter Lynas.
In announcing Mr Martin’s retirement, FirstGroup says that he has “undertaken a refresh of the skills and experience on the board and successfully overseen a significant change of strategy amid the challenging pandemic period, repositioning the group to a leading public transport business with a strong balance sheet and delivering significant realisation of value for shareholders.”
Mr Martin adds: “I am proud of the progress that we have made at FirstGroup over the last five years under my chairmanship. I will enjoy continuing to work with the team until my retirement from the board. I wish the team the very best for the future.”
FirstGroup CEO Graham Sutherland has paid tribute to Mr Martin. “I thank David for his contribution to the Group and the strategic progress that he has overseen.
“I also thank David for his wise counsel in my first two years with the business and for helping to build a strong platform for the next stage.”
