ADL CEO Colin Robertson to transition to Vice Chair of NFI Group Board
WINNIPEG, MB, June 16, 2020 /CNW/ - (TSX: NFI) NFI Group Inc. ("NFI"), one of the world's largest independent global bus and motor coach manufacturers, announced today that Alexander Dennis Limited ("ADL") Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") Colin Robertson is stepping down as CEO on September 30, 2020 and will transition to non-executive director and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of NFI (the "Board"). Mr. Robertson will be succeeded by Paul Davies, who will become ADL's new President & Managing Director.
Mr. Robertson transitions to the Board after 30 years of operational and senior leadership experience in global manufacturing, including 13 years as CEO of ADL. During his tenure at ADL, Colin transformed the company into the UK bus market leader and global leader for double deck buses, through a relentless focus on the customer and combining operational excellence, innovative products and best-in-class aftermarket support. Following NFI's acquisition of ADL in May 2019, Mr. Robertson agreed to remain with the company for one-year, which has now been extended to September 30, 2020 in order to allow for an orderly transition and seamless handover. Mr. Robertson, also the Chair of Entrepreneurial Scotland, was awarded the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019 for his services to exports and to the bus and coach manufacturing sector.
Paul Davies joined Alexander Dennis in 1997 and has over 25 years of automotive and rail industry experience. As ADL's Regional Managing Director based in Hong Kong, Mr. Davies led the company's long-term profitable growth in the Asia Pacific region for the past 20 years and will return to his native Scotland. Mr. Davies' role as ADL's Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region will pass to Steve Rose, who joins ADL from Cummins where he most recently had been Regional Operations Director, Taiwan & Mongolia, and General Manager, Hong Kong. Based in Hong Kong, Steve has over 40 years of experience in manufacturing, operations and aftermarket support.
"Leading ADL has been exciting and extremely rewarding," said Mr. Robertson. "I am fiercely proud of what has been achieved through the hard work of the entire team and the collaborative partnerships we've developed with our suppliers and customers. I know the company will be in fantastic hands with Paul Davies, who has been a key member of the executive team and lives and breathes ADL's mission and values. With his thorough understanding of our business and the wider industry, I have every confidence that Paul will bring further success to ADL and NFI as a member of the NFI's Executive Leadership team."
NFI Chair, The Honourable Brian Tobin, O.C. P.C. explained, "We are thrilled that Colin Robertson has agreed to join the NFI Board as Vice Chair, and I look forward to working with him and the rest of the Board in assisting and overseeing NFI Group's pursuit of enhanced competitiveness and further international growth."
NFI President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Soubry stated, "I have known Colin for nearly a decade and constantly sought a way to bring our two companies together and in the process gained a tremendous amount of respect for his business expertise and strategic vision. Colin's vast manufacturing background, experience and deep knowledge of the global bus and coach markets will serve NFI well." Soubry explained further, "I'm also very excited to work with Paul Davies who has been mentored by Colin for several years as they grew ADL's presence to be a market leader in the Asia Pacific Region. Paul is exactly the right kind of leader to drive the next chapter of ADL as part of NFI."
About NFI
With 9,000 team members operating from more than 50 facilities across ten countries, NFI is a leading independent global bus manufacturer providing a comprehensive suite of mass transportation solutions under brands: New Flyer® (heavy-duty transit buses), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and double-deck buses), Plaxton (motor coaches), MCI® (motor coaches), ARBOC® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI buses and motor coaches incorporate the widest range of drive systems available including: clean diesel, natural gas, diesel-electric hybrid, and zero-emission electric (trolley, battery, and fuel cell). In total, NFI now supports over 105,000 buses and coaches currently in service around the world.
NFI common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI. News and information are available at www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com, www.arbocsv.com, www.alexander-dennis.com, and www.nfi.parts.
About Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL)
ADL is a global leader in the design and manufacture of double deck buses and is also the UK's largest bus and coach manufacturer. ADL offers single and double deck vehicles under the brands of Alexander Dennis and Plaxton and has over 31,000 vehicles in service in the UK, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada and the United States.
SOURCE NFI Group Inc.
Stephen King, Group Director, Corporate Development and Investor Relations, +1.204.224.6382, [email protected]
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