Divisional management

Janette became Managing Director of First Bus in October 2020. First Bus is one of Britain's largest bus companies with around a fifth of bus services outside London, and a fleet of more than 5,000 buses.

Janette was previously Chief Executive Officer of P&O Ferries. Having joined that company in 2012 as Commercial Director, she was a key part of the executive team that devised and led a transformation of the business, including resetting the commercial agenda and delivering a profitable e-commerce strategy. She was later appointed Managing Director, before becoming CEO in January 2018. Under her leadership the company delivered a significant change programme, establishing a new on-board proposition for customers, driving greater efficiencies and placing its first order for new ferries in over a decade.

Prior to joining P&O Ferries, Janette was Sales & Marketing Director for Hammerson plc, the property development and investment company. She also held senior executive positions within Centrica, including Director of Sales & Growth for British Gas. Her career began at Tesco, where she was a graduate trainee, before becoming a consultant at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. She has an MBA from the University of Stirling and completed her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Warwick University. Janette is also a non-executive director of Grainger plc.

Mike Nelson was appointed Managing Director of First Rail on the 1st of July, following Steve Montgomery’s retirement.

Mike’s career in the rail industry spans 25 years including various roles in the UK and overseas. Having started at Great Western Railway he rose to become Finance Director before joining the FirstGroup finance team.

In 2013, he joined MTR Corporation Limited (Europe) and was European Finance Director from 2016 to 2020. His role here included the joint venture between South Western Railway and FirstGroup, the original London Overground contract, in a joint venture with Arriva, and MTR Nordic covering commuter, underground, maintenance and open access operations in Sweden.

He rejoined FirstGroup as Finance and Strategic Development Director in 2020, overseeing contract negotiations for the DfT TOCs’ transition to National Rail Contracts and more recently managing the transition of the rail division following the decision to renationalise the rail franchises. He was appointed Managing Director of the Rail division in July 2026.