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AUSSIE BUS OPERATOR APPOINTS FIRST FEMALE MD

TRANSIT SYSTEMS' South Australian bus operator Torrens Transit has appointed 36-year bus industry veteran Sharon Brown to the position of managing director - the first female bus MD for the greater Kelsian Group (Sealink) and Australia, the company has announced.

Brown commenced her career in the bus industry with Trans-Adelaide in 1985 and has successfully moved through the ranks, earlier resulting in being appointed regional manager – South, in 1999. 

“Sharon joined Transit Systems in 2000, working over the years as the senior area manager and overseeing the scheduling functions for the business, while also managing the Mile End and Port Adelaide Depots,” Kelsian Group CEO Clint Feuerherdt outlined. 

“We have every confidence in Sharon’s abilities to continue delivering a high standard of service excellence across our South Australian network and congratulate her on the achievement,” he said. 

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GENDER DIVERSITY 

The appointment highlights a trend of Kelsian senior executives driving gender diversity in its bus business, the company explains. 

Kelsian’s Transit Systems is seeing an increasing interest from females for roles within the transport sector, according to Feuerherdt. 

“We are thrilled to see and support females in leadership roles, and we passionately believe this has been buoyed in the bus industry, as we celebrate more women in transport,” he said. 

Transit Systems is part of Kelsian Group, which boasts an impressive array of females in the executive ranks, with an all-female leadership team in South Australia including: Donna Gauci, chief operating officer, Marine and Tourism; general manager Sealink South Australia Sarah-Jane Tilbury, and now welcoming Brown to the senior leadership team in Adelaide. 

Additionally, Angela Piper is the general manager of Sealink, Northern Territory and Tania Matthews is general manager Sealink, Tasmania, Kelsian confirms. 

“The females in our businesses have worked hard, they are respected industry experts, and they are having a positive impact across the business and industry. We will continue to encourage and support gender diversity,” Feuerherdt said.

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ABOUT SEALINK (KELSIAN) 

Sealink Travel Group is Australia’s largest integrated land and marine, tourism and public transport service provider with established international operations in London and Singapore, it states.  

It is one of Australia’s most experienced and diverse multi-modal transport businesses, boasting performance-driven capabilities across ferry, bus and light rail, it adds.  

Sealink is made up of Australian marine and tourism operations and Transit Systems’ domestic and international public bus and light rail transport operations.  

Sealink moved more than 207 million customers in FY2021, has approximately 9,000 employees and operates approximately 3,800 buses, 117 vessels and 24 light-rail vehicles, it adds.

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Photography: courtesy Kelsian Group

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