Arriva Group announces arrival of two new Managing Directors

Jana Siber and Liz Benison come with extensive experience and will join the Arriva Management Board on 17th September, reporting directly to CEO Manfred Rudhart.

The new MD’s responsibilities will include growing Arriva’s presence and innovating to support the specific passenger transport solutions required by local authorities, Governments and passengers in those markets.

Liz Benison is the new Managing Director covering Croatia, Denmark, The Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. Liz has led the transformation of businesses in several sectors, including engineering, manufacturing and financial services. Most recently she was a Divisional Chief Executive leading one of two operating divisions for Serco Group in the UK and Europe.

She is a Non-executive director on the newly formed Board of Openreach, the infrastructure provider of the UK’s internet economy, where she also sits on the Audit and Remuneration Committees.

At Serco, Liz ran a ‘turnaround’ team and took on global responsibility for the Gender Diversity agenda. Prior to that she held leadership positions at CSC Computer Services Company, Capgemini, Xansa / Druid, and was a senior analyst at Ford Motor Company.  

The new Managing Director for the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden is Jana Siber. Jana is an accomplished senior leader who brings a wealth of international experience. Most recently Jana worked for Avis Budget Group leading their ZipCar International division, a ‘start-up’ that allows customers to rent cars and vans by the minute, hour and day.

In a five year period at Avis, Jana held several roles, including as VP for Global Licensees responsible for 180 master franchisees. She was also Head of International Strategy for EMEA and APAC, overseeing the development of corporate strategy and processes around annual business planning.

Prior to that, she held senior consultancy roles at Bain & Company UK, Accenture (UK) and Booz Allen Hamilton International (UK) where she led multiple strategy as well as transformation projects.  

Manfred Rudhart, CEO, Arriva said: “We have ambitions to be the transport partner of choice for commissioning authorities and customers, and to grow our presence in markets across Europe. I am excited by the renewed focus that these appointments bring, supported as they are by excellent teams across Europe.

"Both Liz and Jana have proven track records of creating and implementing successful transformation strategies, at scale, and leading cultural change to make this happen. I look forward to welcoming them to Arriva.”

Commenting on the announcement, Jana Siber said: “I am pleased to be joining Arriva at this important time, as the transport sector adapts to the needs of a digital world and new models are coming into play. We must ensure that we work in partnership with our client authorities to make travel easy and seamless for passengers.”

Liz Benison added: “I can see that the teams at Arriva have a real passion for making a positive difference to passengers and finding new approaches that work. It’s about finding practical solutions that change markets, change customer expectations and change lives even.”