---
title: "Former Go-Ahead chief to chair Ports of Jersey board"
url: https://www.nsfw.info/former-go-ahead-chief-to-chair-ports-of-jersey/
published: 2026-10-07T07:31:12+00:00
modified: 2026-10-07T07:31:12+00:00
author: "Chief Editor"
categories: ["Business"]
image: https://www.nsfw.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/former-go-ahead-chief-to-chair-ports-of-jersey-1024x572.webp
summary: "David Brown, ex-chief executive of Go-Ahead Group and former Transport for London director, has been appointed non-executive chair of Ports of Jersey."
publisher: NSFW (https://www.nsfw.info)
---

# Former Go-Ahead chief to chair Ports of Jersey board

**In brief:** David Brown has been appointed as the new non-executive chair of Ports of Jersey’s board, taking up the role at the start of next month. He brings four decades of experience in transport and critical infrastructure, succeeding Geoffrey Spence who has held the chair since July 2024.

## A Seasoned Hand at the Helm

Ports of Jersey, the States-owned entity responsible for Jersey Airport, the island’s harbours and a range of essential services, has named David Brown as its new non-executive chair. The appointment, which follows a recruitment process conducted with the support of the Jersey Appointments Commission, sees Brown step into one of the more consequential roles in the island’s infrastructure landscape.

Brown is no stranger to the upper reaches of the transport world. Currently chair of Renew Holdings, he previously spent ten years as group chief executive of Go-Ahead Group, one of the UK’s largest public transport operators, and before that served as managing director of surface transport at Transport for London. Forty years of experience across transport and critical infrastructure, then: not exactly a man who will need a map to find the departure lounge.

## Stepping Into Spence’s Shoes

Brown succeeds Geoffrey Spence, who joined the Ports of Jersey board in 2018 and has served as chair since July 2024. Ports of Jersey has thanked Spence “for his leadership and contribution to the organisation.” He will revert to his non-executive director role before his tenure concludes in May 2027, meaning the transition is an orderly one rather than a clean break.

Ports chief executive Matt Thomas welcomed the appointment warmly, citing Brown’s “outstanding experience of transport, infrastructure and public service” and his “strong record of leading organisations through change.” Thomas added that Brown’s “judgement, governance expertise and collaborative approach will be valuable as we continue to invest in the island’s critical gateways and deliver for our customers and community.”

Brown himself described the appointment as a “privilege,” saying: “The airport, harbours and essential services play a vital role in island life, and I look forward to working with the board, Matt and the wider team to support safe, reliable connectivity and the organisation’s ambitious plans for the future.”

## Why This Matters for Jersey

For an island that depends entirely on its ports and airport for the movement of people, goods and, frankly, everything that makes modern life function, the quality of leadership at Ports of Jersey is not a trivial matter. Connectivity is the lifeblood of the Channel Islands economy, from the finance industry’s need to move people efficiently to and from London, to the supermarket shelves that rely on regular freight services.

Brown’s background running large, complex transport organisations in the UK gives him credibility in navigating the kind of regulatory, commercial and operational pressures that come with managing critical national infrastructure. His experience at Go-Ahead Group, which operates bus and rail services across the UK, and his time overseeing surface transport for one of the world’s busiest cities, suggests he is well-equipped to handle the “ambitious plans for the future” that Ports of Jersey has referenced, even if those plans have not been spelled out in detail.

## The NSFW Perspective

There is something quietly reassuring about an appointment process that appears to have produced a genuinely well-qualified candidate. The Jersey Appointments Commission was involved, the outgoing chair is staying on as a non-executive director to ensure continuity, and the incoming chair has a CV that would impress in any boardroom. Whether Brown’s private-sector instincts will mesh smoothly with the realities of running a States-owned entity, where political considerations have a habit of gatecrashing commercial decisions, remains to be seen. But on paper, this looks like a solid piece of business. Jersey’s gateways are too important to be left in anything other than capable hands.

*Source: [Bailiwick Express](https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/business/new-non-executive-chair-of-ports-of-jerseys-board-appointed)*