Based in Aberdeen, and reporting directly to FirstGroup chief executive Moir Lockhead, Virgin Atlantic”s former PR boss Paul Moore (pictured above) will be a member of First's senior executive team.
As group public affairs and communications director he will work closely with group corporate communications director Rachael Borthwick, and the in-house communications team, to continue to position the Group and develop its profile as the UK's leading transportation operation. He will lead the recruitment of new in-house PR positions for the Group's operating divisions in both the UK and North America.
Paul was formerly Virgin”s director of corporate affairs, working for the airline from 1997. He left in February this year, well before an alleged price-fixing scandal broke out regarding fuel surcharges implemented by both Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. Prior to Virgin he had worked in the Civil Service for a variety of government departments, culminating in the post of head of PR at OPRAF ” the government department responsible for franchising Britain's passenger railways.
Paul had this to say on his appointment: "First is a very successful and innovative business with an impressive range of bus and rail operations. Its scale is vast with over 2bn passengers carried each year. Sustainable public transport is key to dealing with many of the problems created by our reliance on cars ” such as traffic congestion and damage to the environment ” and I'm looking forward to helping First play a lead role in the expansion of public transport in the years ahead."