Go-Ahead appoints former Network Rail FD Patrick Butcher as CFO

Transport operator Go-Ahead Group has appointed Patrick Butcher as its chief financial officer.

Butcher joins from Network Rail, where he was group finance director from 2009 and led capital raising activities in public markets prior to its reclassification in 2014 as a public sector company.

Go-Ahead said Butcher brings a wealth of industry experience to the position, having held finance director roles at English, Welsh and Scottish Railways, Mapeley Limited, London Underground and Kings College Hospital.

Butcher will join the group by May of next year. To ensure an orderly transition, Go-Ahead's financial controller, Paul Edwards, will become interim group FD following Keith Down's departure on 13 November.

Chief executive David Brown said Butcher “will be an excellent addition to the Go-Ahead team, bringing strong financial management capabilities as well as significant transport sector and stakeholder experience”.