The boss of the Tyne and Wear Metro is quitting the North East to move back Down Under.
Martin Kearney is to leave his post as managing director of Nexus after a hectic three-and-a-half years in the top job. He is heading back to New Zealand, where he had worked previously, to take charge of train services in the city of Auckland.
The Yorkshireman joined Nexus in January 2020 and was tasked soon after with steering the Metro through the Covid-19 crisis, as the network grappled with a collapse in passenger numbers, driver shortages, and massive financial worries. His busy tenure has also involved overseeing the building of a new £362m fleet of Metro trains, the first of which are due to enter service later this year, and a three-month shutdown of services to South Shields to allow for a major line upgrade.
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Mr Kearney is due to leave in October for his new job as chief executive officer for Auckland One Rail and will be replaced on an interim basis by Nexus’ major projects director Cathy Massarella. His departure leaves Nexus on the hunt for new leadership at a crucial time, with the Metro’s 43-year-old trains being phased out over the next couple of years and the election of a new North East mayor next May expected to bring a significant shake-up of the region’s transport services.
The news was confirmed in an email to stakeholders from Transport North East managing director Tobyn Hughes on Friday. Mr Hughes wrote: “He has achieved some fantastic things during his time at Nexus including leading the organisation through the Covid-19 lockdowns and their aftermath, transforming our approach to diversity, inclusion and safety, and overseeing the delivery of Metro Flow and the arrival of the first of the new trains from Stadler. I wish Martin every success in the next stage of his career, and I am sure that everyone in Nexus will do the same.
“Cathy is a long-standing and highly respected Nexus colleague and I am delighted she has accepted the offer to become Interim Managing Director. Cathy joined Nexus from GNER in 2004 where she had an operational role. She has worked in a number of senior roles, leading the delivery of bus services and our workstream to consider bus quality contracts.
“Most recently as major projects director she led delivery of Metro Flow, our biggest ever infrastructure project, and the programme to introduce our new train fleet. Cathy will work with Martin over the next three months to ensure a stable transition, with formal responsibility for reporting lines transferring to her when Martin leaves.
“There are exciting times ahead for Nexus, delivering transport services on behalf of the new North East Mayoral Combined Authority. In due course we will begin recruitment for a permanent replacement to lead the organisation as we tackle new challenges together in the future.”
Mr Kearney began his career at British Rail and first made the move to New Zealand in 2012, to head up the implementation of a new train fleet in Auckland. He subsequently took charge of the Sydney Harbour ferry service in Australia, as well as rail businesses in Auckland and Wellington, before joining Nexus.
