Independent rail and coach travel platform Trainline has announced the appointment of a new chair.
Brian McBride will become the listed firm’s Independent Non-Executive Chair with effect from 5 November 2019.
McBride has a long history of work with tech firms. He was chair of ASOS from 2012 to 2018 and CEO of Amazon.co.uk from 2006 to 2011.
He has also held non-executive director positions at AO World plc, Computacenter PLC and SThree PLC. He was previously on the Board of the BBC and was a member of the Advisory Board of Huawei UK.
He is also a member of the UK Government’s Digital Advisory Board, which steers the digital delivery of Government services to UK citizens.
McBride was appointed deputy chair and senior independent non-executive director of Trainline in June 2019 and will succeed Douglas S. McCallum, who is retiring.
McCallum, who joined the firm in 2013, commented: “It has been a privilege to serve as Trainline Chair for six years and to have worked with the outstanding Executive team to achieve the business’s strong growth.
“I am really proud of what we have achieved together and am pleased to hand over the Chairmanship to Brian McBride who will doubtless steward the business to further great success.”
The board said the move reflects its desire to achieve good governance standards as set out in the UK Governance Code. McBride’s Board Committee membership remains unchanged.
McBride said he was very excited to be taking chair of the firm.
“As one of the fastest growing European tech companies, I believe Trainline has a huge opportunity ahead and I look forward to working with the Board and wider team to deliver on its strategy in the coming years,” he said.
Clare Gilmartin, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “On behalf of the Board and colleagues at Trainline, I would like to express our thanks to Doug for his outstanding leadership over the last six years. As Chair, he has been a great partner in achieving considerable growth at Trainline, culminating in bringing the Company through its successful IPO in June.
“We are delighted that Brian has agreed to succeed Doug. He brings a wealth of experience having led global players in tech through periods of significant growth, and his expertise will be invaluable for our life as a public company.”