Royal Mail has appointed Emma Gilthorpe as its new chief executive after former top brass Simon Thompson left amid a flurry of industrial action.
International Distribution Services (IDS), the parent company of Royal Mail, said on Tuesday that Gilthorpe, who has held the role of chief operating officer of Heathrow Airport in 2020, will join the company in May.
Thompson departed the national postal service in May last year amid a brutal battle with the Communication Workers Union after a year of postal strikes.
Although a deal was agreed with the union, Gilthorpe will inherit other struggles at Royal Mail such as poor financial performance, threats from couriers like Amazon and DPD and allegations that it is prioritising more profitable parcels over letters.
Gilthorpe will undergo an intensive induction process before taking over full responsibility for the company in the summer.
She said: “It is an exciting time to be joining Royal Mail at this crucial period for the company. Royal Mail is a great British brand with a long and proud history.
“Now is the time to ensure it has a successful future too, working in partnership with our employees, customers and all our stakeholders to continue to modernise Royal Mail and deliver the high standards of service our customers rightly expect.”
Gilthorpe joined Heathrow in 2009, holding a number of senior roles since then, including leading Strategy, Regulation and Sustainability. Before that, she worked in the telecoms industry.
Martin Seidenberg, group chief executive of IDS, said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Emma as CEO of Royal Mail Group. Emma has an impressive track record of delivering major strategic change programmes whilst driving up performance.
“She will bring a customer and employee-centric approach to delivering Royal Mail’s transformation for the benefit of all our stakeholders, and I look forward to working closely with her to ensure Royal Mail reaches its true potential.”
Seidenberg recently warned that “urgent action” is needed to save the Royal Mail. As fewer letters are being sent, the company wants to cut its letter delivery service from six to five days a week. The government has previously rejected this, though.
Ofcom, the communications regulator that oversees Royal Mail, hit the company with a fine of £5.6m late last year after it failed to meet crucial delivery targets by a “significant and unexplained margin”.
Gilthorpe’s departure has prompted a new chain of command at Heathrow Airport too. Current chief of finance Javier Echave is set to take over from Emma as chief operating officer from 26 April.
Sally Ding, currently director of treasury and corporate finance, will be acting chief of finance while Heathrow Airport conducts a permanent recruitment search to fill the role.