14.09.18
Hull Trains’ Louise Mendham appointed as director after 14 years of delivery
Louise Mendham has been appointed as the new production director of Hull Trains after 14 years of successful delivery at the company.
The long serving member of Hull Trains joined as operational support in 2004 and will now join the executive team ahead of the company’s introduction of five new Hitachi Class 802 trains in December 2019.
Mendham said: “I’ve always taken on challenges throughout my time here and this role was the right move for me, it feels like a natural progression.
“I’m ambitious and determined to succeed and I feel I have the experience and understanding of the business to bring about positive changes and move it forward.”
“We are in an exciting period of change here, and it is important that everyone is aligned in their vision of the future of the company.
“I will use my strategic experience and understanding of the day-to-day running of the business to lead my teams from the front.”
Louise Mendham started in operation support, working there for three years before being promoted to logistics manager and then to planning and performance manager, handling train planning, business strategy and performance analysis.
After nine years in this role, Hull Trains’ have appointed Mendham to provide full leadership to both operational and fleet teams, holding responsibility for arrival of services and for the rollout of the new trains next year.
The current fleet will be replaced with new hi-tech Hitachi trains, offering increased capacity and higher speeds from December 2019.
Back in May, Hull Trains revealed the first artist’s impressions of the new trains which form part of the major £60m investment.
Bucking the trend, 50% of Hull Trains employees are female with an equal gender split across the executive board and Mendham saying that the company are “leading the field”.
She said: “There are lots of different roles at train operating companies and the scope for progression at Hull Trains is excellent.
“I’ve been encouraged to apply for new roles and supported in my career development, with Hull Trains putting me through leadership courses and qualifications to help me realise my goals.
“We’re definitely seeing an increase in the number of women developing successful careers in the rail industry and Hull Trains is leading the field in this approach.”
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