Stagecoach South West MD moves on after 20-year career with company

Stagecoach has announced that the head of its South West of England bus operations has moved on after a 20-year career with the company.

Stagecoach South West Managing Director Bob Dennison, who joined Britain's biggest bus operator in November 1999 as a shift fitter, stepped down last week.

Bob began his bus industry career in 1994 as an apprentice mechanic in New Zealand before starting work with Stagecoach in Hull.

In 2000, Bob achieved a place on Stagecoach’s Staff Development Programme, and subsequently moved to Cambridge as Engineering Supervisor.

He then had a spell as Engineering Manager at Peterborough depot before being appointed Engineering Manager at Cambridge depot. Bob was appointed Engineering Director at Stagecoach East in 2008.

For the last four years, Bob has managed Stagecoach’s South West of England business, which runs local bus services across Exeter, East Devon, Torbay, South Devon, North Devon, Somerset and into Cornwall and Dorset.

Stagecoach South West has around 1220 employees, a fleet of more than 400 buses and carries around 35 million passenger journeys a year. The company’s buses cover around 19 million miles a year.

Mark Threapleton, Stagecoach Chief Operating Officer, said: “I would like to thank Bob for the contribution he has made over many years at a number of companies across Stagecoach, including in the south west. We wish him well for the future.”

Mr Dennison said: “I've greatly enjoyed working with the team at Stagecoach South West, and with colleagues across the wider business, over the past two decades and I will look back fondly on the many achievements that I have been part of. Stagecoach has been a huge part of my life, but the time has come for a different focus and I'm looking forward to new challenges ahead. I would like to thank all the people I've worked with at Stagecoach over the years for their commitment, assistance and support."

Mike Watson, who was previously Stagecoach regional director for England and Wales and who has most recently been working with the business development team, has been appointed interim Managing Director, Stagecoach South West, while a formal recruitment process takes place.