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.