A NEW managing director and chief operating officer have taken the helm at Northern.

As managing director, Tricia Williams now leads the UK’s second largest train operator. She joined the company in 2020 as chief operating officer.

Before Northern, she held executive roles at Manchester Airports Group where she delivered sustained customer growth and transformation. She also spent 20 years at United Utilities Group in operational leadership and strategic transformation roles.

As COO, Williams is succeeded by Matt Rice, who joined Northern from Network Rail where he was route director for the north and east route.

In his role, Rice will lead all Northern service and engineering functions across the North of England, which includes 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations in the region.  

Tricia Williams, managing director of Northern, said: “After three great years as chief operating officer, it’s an absolute honour to be taking on the managing director role from this week.

“I know we have big challenges ahead of us but Northern is in a strong position and Matt and the rest of the director leadership team are committed to creating an inclusive culture, improving performance and our customer experience.”

Matt Rice, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “I am looking forward to working with Tricia and my colleagues across the region to deliver for our customers.

“I have spent my career focused on making things better and I am committed to fostering a positive workplace culture for all and delivering great rail services for people across the North of England.”

Rice is supported by three regional directors. Craig Harrop covers the North West, while Kerry Peters has Yorkshire, East Midlands and Humberside. Jason Wade was recently appointed to the North East role.