National Express names former M&S chief financial officer Helen Weir as new chair in search for new CFO
- Weir will join the board in October and will be succeeded by Sir John Armitt in January
- She is also currently Non-Executive Director at Greencore and Superdry
- James Stamp, the group’s commercial director, became interim chief financial officer
New Chairman: Helen Weir succeeds Sir John Armitt in January
Coach operator National Express has appointed former Marks & Spencer chief financial officer Helen Weir as its new chairman.
Weir will join the board in October and take over from outgoing chairman Sir John Armitt in January when he steps down after nearly ten years in office.
The group also appointed James Stamp, the group’s commercial and strategic director, as interim chief financial officer after Chris Davies announced last month that he would be stepping down.
Weir, who was finance director at M&S between 2015 and 2018, had a long executive career as CFO of a number of publicly traded companies.
In the past she was also Group Finance Director of John Lewis and Chief Executive of Lloyds Banking Group’s retail bank.
She is currently non-executive director of food company Greencore and fashion retailer Superdry.
She has also held such roles at Just Eat, SABMiller, Royal Mail and Cineworld Group in the past.
Sir John Armitt said Weir was ideally placed for the role: ‘With a deep understanding of the client and technology from her executive and non-executive experience and extensive financial expertise, Helen is ideally placed for the role.’
Chief Executive Ignacio Garat said Weir’s appointment will help National Express pursue “growth opportunities.”
Weir said, “I am pleased to join National Express at such an important time for the company. The company has a clear strategy aimed at driving the important shift away from private cars and towards public transport.’
In the meantime, the group says it has begun searching for a permanent chief financial officer and will be considering both internal and external candidates.
National Express returned to profitability in the first half of the year as passengers returned to travel.
In July, the transport company posted a profit of £15.8m for the first half of 2022, up from a loss of £24.1m last year when many services were suspended after countries imposed strict nationwide lockdowns.
