Renault’s Claire Martin joins Keolis as executive director

Claire Martin has been named as the new executive director of Keolis’ Industrial Department, which includes the company’s operations and maintenance activities, centres of expertise (including infrastructure, energy and transition, industrial asset management, on-board systems, signalling and passenger information), purchasing, IT and the consulting activities of Keolis Conseil et Projets.

As a member of the group’s executive committee, she will be responsible for leading the group’s industrial strategy and developing expertise and strategic partnerships in coordination with other group departments (France, International and Business). She will also drive transformation to meet customers’ needs and expectations, especially in relation to energy transition.

Already holding a master’s degree in psychosociology, a master’s degree in consulting from ESCP – IFACE Business School (Paris) and an advanced management programme from Harvard Business School, Claire is now finalising certification in executive coaching at HEC Paris.

Claire Martin joined Renault in 1988, first as part of the gearbox engineering department, where she was in charge of process re-engineering, then as part of the research department, where she implemented lean production and matrix organisations and led research in the field of international cooperation.

10 years later, she was involved in the creation of the RenaultNissan Alliance and in the renaissance of the Japanese carmaker Nissan. In 2005, she was appointed vice president of global corporate communications at Renault.

In 2008, she created and managed Renault’s CSR (corporate social responsibility) department and led the Renault Foundation. She also set up the SRI (socially responsible investment) fund Mobiliz Invest, to boost entrepreneurship and innovation in sustainable mobility.

In 2016, she was appointed COO of Renault-Nissan Consulting. With a staff of 250 consultants, this global agency is in charge of supporting its clients’ industrial strategies in operational excellence, lean manufacturing, agile transformation, optimisation of distribution networks and customer experience.

Claire Martin has been a member of the Academy of Technologies since 2007, a start-up administrator and a lecturer on CSR at Sciences Po Paris. A former member of the Attali Committee on the positive economy, she has been a partner of the LH Forum, the positive economy forum held in Le Havre, since 2012.

Keolis Group operates in 16 different countries. It is 70 per cent owned by SNCF – France’s state-owned railway operator – and 30 per cent owned by Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et de placement du Québec.

In the UK, Keolis has been involved in the rail and tram market since 1996. Today, it employs 13,000 people across its franchises and concessions, which include:

• Govia – in partnership with the Go–Ahead Group;
• Southeastern – a joint venture with Go–Ahead;
• GTR – Govia Thameslink Railway is the UK’s largest franchise;
• KeolisAmey Docklands – with Amey, operators of the Docklands Light Railway since 2014;
• Nottingham Tram – a four–way partnership between Keolis, Trent Barton, Alstom and Vinci;
• KeolisAmey Metrolink – a joint venture between Keolis and Amey that was awarded the franchise, in 2017, to operate and maintain Manchester’s Metrolink for up to 10 years;
• Transport for Wales (TfW) Rail Services – KeolisAmey was awarded the Wales and Borders franchise for 15 years in May 2018.