Heathrow executive recruited to lead Royal Mail turnaround effort

The owner of Royal Mail has appointed Heathrow airport’s chief operating officer to run the UK’s legacy mail-delivery company, after nine months of seeking to fill the post.

Emma Gilthorpe will take over from Martin Seidenberg, who has been filling the role of interim chief executive of Royal Mail in addition to serving as chief executive of the parent International Distributions Services group since being appointed in July last year.

Simon Thompson, who had been embroiled in a long-running, acrimonious dispute with Royal Mail’s main union, the CWU, resigned as CEO of the UK mail group in May last year.

Between 2020 and Seidenberg’s appointment, IDS has had no chief executive. There were CEOs at Royal Mail and GLS, its Netherlands-based logistics business, and a chair for the overall group.

Royal Mail, which was privatised in stages between 2013 and 2015, faces significant challenges adjusting to declining deliveries of letters and intensifying competition in the growing parcels market in the UK, where it holds the largest market share. The division lost £1bn in the year to March 26 last year, the last full year for which results have been published.

The operation has also faced criticism for the often slow deliveries of some mail, including time-critical material such as notices of hospital appointments.

Announcing Gilthorpe’s appointment, IDS stressed her experience of corporate transformation management. Gilthorpe has filled a number of roles at Heathrow since joining the airport in 2009.

“Emma brings extensive experience of working in large, complex and high profile regulated infrastructure businesses and has a proven record of delivering successful change programmes,” the company said.

Gilthorpe will join Royal Mail next month, initially working closely with Seidenberg during an “intensive induction process” before taking over as chief executive in the summer. Seidenberg will remain interim chief executive until Gilthorpe takes over, the company said.

Royal Mail is expected in the next few days to put forward to regulator Ofcom proposals that would allow it to reduce the frequency of letter deliveries to households. It is currently obliged to deliver letters everywhere in the UK six days a week from Monday to Saturday.

The business also needs to make its operations, currently geared to letters and manual sorting, more efficient and focused on parcel delivery.

Gilthorpe said it was an “exciting time” to be joining the company.

“Royal Mail is a great British brand with a long and proud history,” she said. “Now is the time to ensure it has a successful future too.”