Leadership

David joined Arriva as Executive Chair of the Arriva Management Board in October 2024, following five years as the Chair of the board of FirstGroup plc where he successfully initiated significant strategic change leading to the sale of North American assets and the establishment of a solid foundation, whilst delivering significant shareholder value. David is the former Chief Executive of Arriva, which he joined in 1998 as Board member responsible for international development before taking over the leadership of the company in 2006. During his tenure, Arriva was transformed into a multi-national transport services group through a number of key strategic mergers and acquisitions. In September 2010, Arriva was purchased by Deutsche Bahn, one of the world’s leading passenger transport and logistics companies.

David remained as Chief Executive throughout this period, before stepping down in January 2016. He remained on the Arriva Board advising on a range of issues until May 2017. He was formerly a Non-Executive Director at Biffa plc and at Ladbrokes plc and previously held roles at British Bus plc, where he was responsible for development of strategy and M&A, at shipping company Holyhead Group and at business services group Initial Services PLC.

David is a chartered management accountant, member of the advisory board at Nottingham Business School and member of the steering committee at Nottingham Trent University.

Christian joined Arriva Group as Chief Financial Officer in December 2020 and has responsibility for the Group’s Finance division including financial reporting, audit and assurance, taxation and treasury operations, and insurance. He also has overall responsibility for the group’s procurement and asset management functions, in addition to the group IT function. He holds a position on the Arriva Management Board.

Christian held the position of Group CFO at Swissport International AG, based in Zurich, Switzerland, where he was a member of the Executive Management Team. Prior to that, Christian was Managing Director of Gate Gourmet, part of the Gate Group, with responsibility for the airline catering business across Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Christian is a graduate from Otto-Beisheim School of Management and started his career with McKinsey and Company.

Alison joined Arriva in 2001 following a successful 15 years in the retail sector with The Boots Company where she carved out an admired reputation in a variety of senior HR and change management roles.

Within her team Alison leads and champions the long-term strategies for the HR, talent, group communications, safety and environment, and transport policy agendas – supporting the team to communicate, deliver the Arriva brand, its values, and support Arriva’s businesses to achieve their priorities.

These specialist areas include senior recruitment and development, Arriva’s successful graduate scheme, talent management, internal and external communications, brand, stakeholder management, digital communications and social media, safety and environment strategy, and Arriva’s transport policy strategy across the UK and mainland Europe.

Alison studied sociology at the University of York and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Chris was appointed as Group Business Development Director in September 2024 with responsibility for driving forward the company’s growth agenda. 

Chris is an experienced Managing Director with a track record in building revenue growth, delivering exceptional customer satisfaction and maintaining safety performance. He brings a deep expertise in the international transportation industry and has specific experience in contract tendering and market entry strategies from his time in a FTSE 250.

Over the course of his career, Chris has held a number of leadership positions, including at Mobico (formerly National Express Plc) where he spent 11 years. Most recently he was Managing Director of the Coach Division and before that he was their Group Commercial Director.

Prior to his time at Mobico, Chris worked at KPMG, developing his expertise in corporate finance. He is a qualified Corporate Treasurer having become an associate member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers in 2007. 

Chris is a graduate from Oxford University where he gained both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Biochemistry.

Sian was appointed Managing Director Mainland Europe in July 2022, with responsibility for 8 European countries, including Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, Slovakia and Slovenia. Prior to taking up this role, Sian was already a member of the Arriva Management Board having joined Arriva as Chief Transformation Officer in March 2021 with responsibility for evolving the strategic vision of the Group.

Prior to joining Arriva, Sian held Executive Leadership positions at Sydney Water Australia for over 4 years including leading Customer, Strategy and Regulation where she led the long term strategy and transformation of the business. She also led frontline operations and customer service during a time of unprecedented operational challenges.

Over the course of her career, Sian has held various leadership positions with P&L accountability, including General Management, CFO and COO roles. She has worked in large, complex organisations in industries as diverse as aviation, utilities, construction, and government. In these roles she led strategy and transformation, frontline operations, customer, innovation, and finance, all with a keen focus on customer, commercial and business performance outcomes.

Sian has a Masters of Business Administration and a Masters of Aerospace Engineering, both from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering (Honours) from the Queen’s University of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Sian is a graduate of the Institute of Directors UK, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She also has a Diploma of Project Management and is a qualified Programme Manager (MSP).

Jens was appointed Managing Director of Arriva UK Bus in March 2023, having joined Arriva Group as Chief Transformation Officer in August 2022. He is also a member of the Arriva Management Board. Jens has more than 25 years of operational leadership experience within international groups and private equity owned companies in Germany, France, Russia and China.

He has held a number of executive management positions. He was Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director at private equity owned Bavaria Yachts Group where he had group responsibility for operations and was a member of the executive management team. Prior to that, Jens was Chief Operating Officer for Lighting Solutions at Osram AG and held senior positions at Michelin and Deutsche Bahn.

Jens has a proven track record in delivering high performing, sustainable operations for customers and stakeholders. He is a graduate in Technical Chemistry from The Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences in Germany.

Anne Hettinga joined the Arriva Management Board in the role of Managing Director, Arriva Netherlands in May 2021 with responsibility for growing Arriva’s presence in the Dutch market – Arriva’s largest market in Mainland Europe – and for supporting innovation in passenger transport solutions to meet the needs and demands of that market.

Anne has been with Arriva since 2000, holding various leadership positions. He joined as Finance Director for Arriva Netherlands before becoming CEO of the business in 2006 – a role he still holds today. He was then appointed to the Arriva Management Board in 2014 through to 2018 with the additional responsibility for growing Arriva’s presence across Northern Europe.

Prior to joining Arriva, Anne worked as a Finance Director for Ballast Nedam, a Dutch-based construction and engineering company, and before that worked for eight years as a Project Manager for Epon NV - the Netherlands’ largest power producer at the time. He started his career at NV PEB – an international supplier for the (petro)chemical and energy industries.

He holds various Board positions, including Chairman of the Federation Mobility Companies (FMN) in the Netherlands.

Anne studied Economics and Business at the University of Groningen and Accountancy at NIVRA and University of Amsterdam.