Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia jumps on board at Stagecoach

Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the former chief executive of Virgin Money, is to get on board at Perth-based transport giant Stagecoach.

Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia joins the board in March. Picture: Neil Hanna

Gadhia, who was made a Dame for her contribution to financial services and women in the finance industry in the New Year’s honours list, will join the bus and rail operator as a non-executive director on 1 March.

She was recently appointed as an external member of the Bank of England’s financial policy committee and also led the UK government’s review into equality and inclusion in financial services as the women in finance champion.

Meanwhile, Stagecoach non-executive director Karen Thomson will not seek re-election as a director at the group’s 2019 annual general meeting in August.

Sir Brian Souter, group chairman, said: “I am delighted to welcome Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia to the Stagecoach board. Dame Jayne-Anne brings a wealth of experience and I look forward to working with her.

“On behalf of the board, I thank Karen Thomson for the contribution she has made to the company since her appointment to the board in 2016. I am sure Karen will continue to make a strong contribution until she steps down later this year.”

Gadhia oversaw Virgin Money’s £1.7 billion takeover by Clydesdale Bank-owner CYBG last year before standing down from the challenger bank in October. She was chief executive of Virgin Money for more than a decade and is currently an adviser to the enlarged business.