Susan has been a Non-Executive Director of Lothian since 2015.
She has more than 35 years’ experience in organisational change, policy development and corporate governance in leadership roles spanning the private, public and third sectors, as well as academia and national politics. Susan has served on the boards of many businesses and charities – including in the arts, energy, housing and health – and has a long track record of contribution to the development of the Edinburgh City Region, including as a former Edinburgh MSP and Scottish Government Minister. Susan is currently Chair of the Edinburgh Festivals Forum; Chair of Home in Scotland; a Trustee of the British Gas Energy Trust; and a Professorial Fellow and Senior Adviser with the University of Edinburgh. She is a former Chair of the Scottish Police Authority and of the Institute of Directors in Scotland and was awarded a CBE for services to business, education and public service in 2017.
Sarah Boyd
Managing Director
As Lothian’s Managing Director, Sarah Boyd leads the organisation. Responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company, she works closely with the company’s senior team to deliver strategy, direction and leadership. With over 20 years in the bus industry, Sarah joined Lothian in 2013 as Head of Operations, before becoming Operations Director in February 2017.
Previously Scottish Chair of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, Sarah is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. She currently chairs a subgroup of the Scottish Government’s Bus Taskforce, looking at improving driver shortages across the bus industry in Scotland. Sarah is passionate about the role Lothian plays within the communities it serves and is proud to be part of the company’s Charities Committee which oversees vital donations to many local charities.
Willie Hamilton
Operations Director
Willie Hamilton has been at Lothian since 2010, having joined the business as a driver. Willie progressed from his driving role into a supervisory position within the control room in 2014 before becoming Lothian’s Operations Infrastructure Manager overseeing the digitalisation of bus destination screens and the introduction of a next stop information system. In 2018, Willie was appointed Coaching and Touring Manager as a result of the launch of Lothian Motorcoaches, then General Manager after also taking on responsibility for Edinburgh Bus Tours in 2020 – guiding both of Lothian’s touring branches through the global Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdowns.
In the autumn of 2021, Willie was promoted to Lothian’s Head of Operations, placing him at the head of Lothian’s service delivery team overseeing a team of managers and supervisors responsible for nearly 1900 drivers. In 2022, Willie became Lothian’s Operations Director.
Colin Barnes
Engineering Director
Colin has spent his entire career in the Transport industry starting out as an Apprentice Mechanic Engineer with Go North East progressing through the business to become Engineer Supervisor after a spell as a Technical Engineer.
Following a move to South Tyneside Council, Colin was eventually promoted to Fleet Services Manager, winning ‘Best Fleet’ in the Fleet News 2014 National Awards. Colin was credited with transforming the fleet, improving productivity and reducing the impact on the environment.
Colin returned to Go North East in 2014, and two years later was named Head of Engineering, responsible for over 700 vehicles. In 2019, Colin became Engineering Director and was recognised as RouteOne’s Engineer of the Year.
In January 2023, Colin joined Lothian as Engineering Director and is excited to lead Lothian’s engineering teams with a focus on embracing new technology and maintaining one of the most modern fleets in the UK.
Gaynor Marshall
Communications Director
Gaynor joined Lothian in 2013 as a short-term project lead on a new ticketing campaign. Three years later, she was appointed Communications Director with overall responsibility for all internal and external communications, frontline customer service, retail and accessibility across the Lothian Group.
Passionate about the positive impact that good communication can have on wider organisational culture and customer experience, Gaynor has over 30 years of business experience. Including early stints at John Lewis and Royal Bank of Scotland, Gaynor then led her own marketing consultancy where she worked with a number of different organisations.
Commercially focused with a strong background in strategic stakeholder management, Gaynor is passionate about developing talent and encouraging diversity within the wider transport industry
Robert Benns
Finance Director
After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, Robert started his professional career in public accountancy at Coopers & Lybrand before spending 12 years at Scottish Power, holding a number of key roles in both the UK and US. Following spells at both Stagecoach Group and AGS Airports Group, Robert spent four years at multinational energy company, SSE plc, joining initially as Finance Director of its Group Finance Function.
A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, Robert became Lothian’s Finance Director in April 2025 and is responsible for the Finance, Payroll, IT, Catering and Strategic Systems teams across the Group.
Tony Rose
Non-Executive Director
After gaining an MSc in Transportation at Imperial College London, Tony started his career as a Transport Analyst and worked on major infrastructure projects such as Crossrail and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. In 2004 he relocated to Edinburgh whilst a Director in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Infrastructure Finance team, providing financial advice to public and private sector clients on complex transport infrastructure projects such as Thameslink, Borders Railway, Edinburgh Tram and heavy rail franchise.
Tony has been a Director at Scottish Futures Trust since 2010, where he has held various responsibilities across Transport, Digital, Low Carbon, Economy and Place, with an overarching focus to support both public and private sector stakeholders in planning, delivering and financing infrastructure for Scotland. During 2019-2021 Tony was seconded to lead the work of the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland. Tony has been a Non-Executive Director of Lothian Buses since 2015, and a member of Lothian Buses Audit and Risk Committee during this time, holding the role of Chair between 2016 to 2019. Tony has also held other Non-Executive roles with HubEast Central Co and the Scotrail Alliance.
Iain Reid
Non-Executive Director
With a strong financial background Iain started his career as a qualified chartered accountant, with KPMG. He also has experience as company secretary at Scottish Widows before becoming Chief Operating Officer at their Investment Management business. Iain has since held the posts of global Chief Financial Officer, Partner and Finance Director posts in various financial organisations in the
UK an d abroad. Iain’s most recent position as Chief Executive Officer at the Faculty of Advocates, where he was responsible for the entire organisation which supports 730 advocates. Iain is currently Chair of our Audit and Risk Committee and a member of our Remuneration Committee and more recently part of the Charity of Choice Committee.
Mark Yexley
Non-Executive Director
Mark has worked in the bus industry for 36 years developing this career from a graduate trainee at London Buses, Mark worked his way up to Executive Director level at Arriva UK Bus an organisation which, at the time Mark left had 6,000 buses, 19,000 employees and 70 bus depots through the UK. A graduate of Bristol University and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Mark was the President of the Chartered Institute of Passenger Transport in 2012. Mark brings with him a wealth of bus sector experience from working on projects that develop environmental initiatives like smart ticketing, fuel saving initiatives and the transport offering for London 2012. Mark is also Chair of Lothian Buses Remuneration Committee.
Loraine Strachan
Non-Executive Director
Loraine is a senior leader in strategic transformation, finance and operations with international experience across commercial sectors, consulting and regulated professions.
She is Finance Director and Chief Technology Officer at the independent Scottish law firm, Anderson Strathern and Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd. She was previously Executive Director of Finance and Operations at the Law Society of Scotland and led consulting and interim assignments in the public, private and education sectors.
Prior to moving to Edinburgh in 2015, Loraine was Senior Vice President at Menzies Aviation in South Africa, responsible for managing all aspects of the business across fourteen airports in the Africa and Middle East region.
Stéphanie Rivet
Non-Executive Director
With over 25 years of experience in the transport and mobility sectors in the UK and internationally, Stephanie is a seasoned professional with a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of transportation.
Stephanie has held senior leadership roles and led transformative projects variously with corporates, start-ups and government. Previous Executive roles include Director, Revenue and Commercial Strategy with Virgin Rail Group and Chief Digital Officer with Stagecoach Group. She was also a Non-Executive Director with a micro-mobility innovator start-up.
Currently an independent consultant and adviser, she is working with the UK Department of Transport on rail reform and the delivery of key initiatives to increase long-term sustainable passenger revenue growth.
Stephanie is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion within the transport and mobility sectors, mentoring the next generation of leaders and working to ensure that women are better represented at all levels.
Stephanie holds a postgraduate diploma in maths and economics from the University of London.
Fraser Wallace
Employee Director
Fraser has enjoyed an extensive career in the bus industry with over 34 years’ service. Beginning as a driver at Eastern Scottish in 1987, Fraser joined Lothian in 1989 and spent 13 years in the driving team. In 2002 Fraser took the next step in his career by joining Lothian’s supervisory team, working as an Incident Response Supervisor. Fraser progressed to become an AVL controller, before being promoted to his current position of Duty Controller.
Fraser was appointed Lothian’s Employee Director in December 2020 following a colleague ballot. Fraser brings a wealth of operational experience to the board and has previously served as Branch Secretary of the Union during his career at Lothian.