UKRL has announced the appointment of Gareth Roberts as Managing Director. He will take over from Mark Winter, one of the founding partners, who is stepping down as Managing Director but will remain as a non-executive director of the business.
Gareth joins UKRL from Hitachi Rail where he was UK Operations & Services Director. Prior to joining Hitachi, he spent over 15 years at Bombardier Transportation rising to be general manager of UK services.
Mark said: “This appointment is an essential next step on our journey. We have spent some time looking for an outstanding individual to take on the responsibility of taking UKRL forward and we are confident that Gareth is that person. I want to add that we had interest from some very strong industry candidates, which I think demonstrates how far UKRL has come since the beginnings in Leicester almost 10 years ago. The business has built a strong franchise underpinned by a reputation for engineering excellence and innovation combined with first class customer service, and we are excited about the future under Gareth’s leadership.”
Gareth said: “This is a great opportunity for me personally. I’m very much looking forward to leading the team and achieving great things together starting from UKRL’s solid foundations, in the freight sector as well as the passenger business. The expansion into Loughborough and ongoing large investments at the Leicester depot, means that the business has significant opportunities, both to expand the offering to existing operators and partner with new customers. I am also lucky enough to inherit a superb team of people who have a great reputation in the rail sector, which is so important when growing a business.”
UKRL has also appointed Steve McBride as Non-Executive Director of UKRL. Steve brings a wealth of experience from a long career in the railways, including as managing director of Vivarail and customer service director of Angel Trains.
Commenting on Gareth and Steve’s appointments, Edward Stevenson , Co-chairman of UKRL said: “We are very excited about Gareth and Steve joining UKRL. Gareth is a meticulous and focused leader who we see as ideally placed to front the business, as we continue to focus on execution for both new and existing customers and take the next steps towards realisation of our strategic goals.”
Kristian Mengel, Co-chairman of UKRL added: “With Steve joining our board of directors we have been able to strengthen our oversight and strategic planning capabilities. Lastly, we want to thank Mark for all his efforts over the years and we look forward to continuing to benefit from his expertise as a non-executive director of the business.”
Photo credit: UKRL
