"Good mentors are so important" says Managing Director of Stagecoach West

Rachel Geliamassi is the Managing Director of one of the biggest bus companies in the UK. 

She is an inspiration for women in transport and passionate about adding further diversity to the coach and bus industry after joining Stagecoach Bus on its graduate training scheme 14 years ago. 

She said:

“I was lucky to have fantastic role models to guide me in my career. My parents both worked for Stagecoach – my dad was a bus driver, and my mum was a bus conductress– so it’s almost a family tradition!” 

One of Rachel’s management strategies is ‘back to the floor.’  She returned to the engineering department last year for the first time since she was a trainee. Here she took the time to get to know apprentices and find out what mentoring and support they needed. She said:

“Good mentors are so important in improving diversity in a male dominated workplace and we need to give our mentors the tools to support diverse talent in the right way. For example, help a female engineering apprentice with ‘let me show you the best approach’ to carry out this process, rather than ‘let me do it for you.’

In terms of her advice for women starting their career she says, “your personal development should always be a priority, but your company might not have a robust strategy and budget in place for you and others in your team.

“You might be lucky and have a great mentoring programme and networks, but if not, don’t just accept it and let yourself stand still. I’m a huge advocate for taking the reins with your own development. Seek out amazing potential mentors, thinking about who you admire, and approach and ask them questions.”

Rachel is passionate about Stagecoach West increasing its female driver headcount. Currently, they account for around 14% of its workforce but Rachel says this is “far from striking the best balance.”

As an Initiative Member of Business West, Rachel will be speaking on Business West’s panel event on International Women’s Day which will focus on embracing equity in business. She said:

“In many sectors, we have seen diversity evolve at a slow pace and as a result there are significantly more men in leading roles. Evidence has shown that we are inclined to pass knowledge on to proteges, who are just like we are.

“What we want to see happen in business, is that we want to disrupt what has ordinarily occurred, because we want to try and level that playing field.

“In transport, and other industries, the way to break down these barriers is through listening and actually speaking to women to find out what they perceive the barriers to be because sometimes we can get caught in a trap as business leaders of thinking we have all the answers.”

Rachel says that her business sector may be underestimated in terms of how it appeals to other talented women and more needs to be done to educate people on what the career can offer.  

“It's about having as many role models as possible who can share the fact that this sector is all about people. 

“If we get people on buses and out of cars, we’re decarbonising the country, and this is a pretty powerful and significant industry to be in in terms of the vision and the results.”

Join the conversation

Business West will be hosting a panel event on 8th March on International Women’s Day to celebrate the region’s female entrepreneurs, focusing on the importance of embracing equity in business. To sign up click here.