On the road to success – Go North East celebrates its inspiring females with senior appointments

Ahead of International Women’s Day (Friday 8 March 2019), Go North East has announced a series of appointments to the company’s senior team, boosting its pool of inspiring female talent.

A recent restructure to bring together its regional north and south divisions has paved the way for three committed female team members to step into senior leadership positions that will help the region’s biggest bus operator realise its future growth plans.

Shirley Connell, who marked 25 years with Go North East in 2018, has taken on the new role of head of operations, with all depot managers and the service delivery centre reporting into her. Last year, she won the Leadership category at the annual Team GNE Awards for her unwavering commitment and dedication in helping the company meet its operational and commercial goals.

Sophie Moorby is one of Go North East’s rising stars and, at 23 years old, became the youngest depot manager in the company’s 105-year history, looking after 146 team members. A former graduate trainee, Sophie has a breadth of experience across the business, flying the flag for female achievement, and earning a place on company-wide steering groups to deliver major campaigns.

Compliance and Risk Manager Stephanie Young continues to make her mark as in the senior management team in a recently-expanded role that reflects her transformational role in the business. After joining the award-winning company as its first in-house occupational health advisor in 2000, she has driven a change agenda that has introduced critical risk management processes and reduced motor incidents by 10%.

Martijn Gilbert, managing director of Go North East said: “Shirley, Stephanie and Sophie have been recognised not only for getting the job done, but being role models, leading by example, and championing our vision, beliefs and attitudes, which are at the very heart of the company.

“While we operate in a traditionally male-dominated industry, having a diverse, inclusive environment is something we take very seriously. Our workforce must reflect the communities we serve, to allow us to successfully deliver on our customer promise of ‘journeys taken care of’.”