Bus Éireann Company Announcement

Bus Éireann Chairman Aidan Murphy has today announced that CEO Ray Hernan will depart in the coming months to take on a senior role in another company.

Mr Hernan joined Bus Éireann in November 2016 as Chief Financial Officer and has led a very significant change and restructure as CEO, since January 2017. The Chairman paid tribute to Mr Hernan’s achievement and dedication during his tenure:

“On behalf of the Board and our staff, I would like to sincerely thank Ray Hernan for leading the business through an exceptionally difficult period in our trading history. He made a valued contribution by working closely with the Board to take, and implement, the very difficult decisions required to stabilise the financial position of the Company. Following a restructure of the business, he continued to work with all staff to ensure that all the recommendations included as part of a new Labour Court agreement, were fully implemented.” 

“This was a major achievement that has significantly helped to make the Company more customer focused and competitive – a necessity in this challenging transport environment and essential to ensuring the ongoing viability and recovery of Bus Éireann. Ray also made significant new appointments to the senior management team, which will ensure the Company is in good hands as he departs. We wish him and his family every success in the future.”

Stephen Kent, Bus Éireann Chief Commercial Officer, has been appointed Acting CEO. Mr Kent has worked in his current role for the past five years. He previously held key management positions in C&C and Waterford Crystal. The Tramore native also had former roles at Guinness Peat Aviation, Bank of Ireland, and Waterford Foods.

Stephen Kent acknowledged the contribution of Mr Hernan – who he has worked closely with – and said that while much has been achieved at Bus Éireann in the past year, many challenges and opportunities remain:

“I am privileged to have worked so closely with Ray, and wish him the very best. I look forward to leading our staff and continuing the ongoing growth and transformation of the business which include a number of positive upcoming initiatives.

We recently announced the creation of 200 new jobs at 10 locations nationwide, and were delighted to win the contract for Waterford services in a competitive bid. These will commence later this year. This summer will see the introduction of over 50 enhanced services across the PSO (Public Service Obligation) and Expressway networks and we continue to work closely with our stakeholders in the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Department of Education and Skills to deliver our nationwide operations to an excellent standard.

“We also look forward to the addition of 125 new fleet into the network in 2019 with NTA funding, and will continue to relentlessly focus on delivering an excellent customer experience for passengers. We will continue to build on the significant progress achieved to date and look positively to the future’.

Wednesday, 4th July, 2018