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.