Stagecoach North East is bidding farewell to a much loved and respected operations manager, who has announced his retirement after almost 44 years service in the transport industry.
65-year-old Brian Sleightholme worked his way up the career ladder at the South Shields depot on Dean Road and has dedicated himself to the bus industry for over four decades.
South Shields-born Brian began his career as a conductor with Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) in October 1973 and after gaining his PCV license a year later, was able to assist as a spare driver when needed.
In 1975 Brian became a ‘one-man operation’, driving buses around South Shields without a conductor for the next 12 years, before becoming an inspector in 1987 and then a duty manager in 1988.
A promotion to assistant operations manager in 2000 saw Brian take his first step into senior management. After serving three years in this role, he quickly progressed to operations manager in 2003, where he spent the next 13 years managing the operations side of the business, which currently has a team of 165 drivers, 30 depot staff and 12 office staff. His role involved the smooth running of the bus services across South Shields on a daily basis, proactively leading the team to improve the quality of the services in the area.
During this time, Brian was responsible for the 100-year birthday celebrations at the depot, which resulted in a great response from the public at the popular event in 2005, and the installation of the impressive depot gates which marked the occasion.
He was also responsible for bringing over £1million of investment to the depot, which has seen a number of developments and improvements to the offices and facilities over the years.
Brian feels privileged to have served his time at South Shields. He said: “I didn’t really want to move around the region, as I was quite happy to stay at the South Shields depot, and when vacancies came up I applied and was successful. I have to say I have enjoyed all the roles that I have undertaken here, especially managing a team and seeing new people come in, become part of that team and progress up the ladder. I feel South Shields has a good group of people of which I am very proud.”