NATS CEO going
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NATS CEO going
Richard Everett is leaving in June and being replaced by Paul Barron 
March 18, 2004
Air traffic control chief ousted by board
BY RUSSELL HOTTEN
THE chief executive of Britain’s air traffic control service has received an estimated £276,000 payoff after its board decided that he was not the right man to complete its huge modernisation programme.
Richard Everitt is being replaced by Paul Barron, 53, president and managing director of the UK division of Alstom, the French engineering group. He takes up the job in June.
Mr Everitt was instrumental in the financial restructuring of National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which came close to collapse because of the aviation recession that followed the 2001 terrorist attacks in America.
However, his management style, described as “disciplined and thorough”, was not to everyone’s liking. One critic said yesterday that there was a Civil Service mentality in Nats.
Mr Everitt received a pay package of £385,000 last year, including bonuses. He is on a one-year contract that paid a basic £276,000 last year, and will receive 12 months’ money for loss of office, Nats said.
Mr Barron is thought to have been offered a basic salary of £300,000 with the potential to earn bonuses of up to another £150,000.
Chris Gibson-Smith, Nats chairman, yesterday paid tribute to Mr Everitt, but said: “We need someone with a new set of skills to take us forward.”
It is understood that the Nats board took the decision to replace Mr Everitt in January, but kept the news under wraps until a replacement was found. A senior Nats controller said that the news was a “total shock”.
Seven UK airlines, including British Airways and Virgin, own 42 per cent of Nats, with BAA, the airports operator, holding 4 per cent. The Government owns the remainder.
The controversial privatisation of Nats in 2001 was designed to make it a more commercial operation, and allow it to raise money for a £1 billion investment programme.
Nats makes most of its money from the fees charged to airlines for using Britain’s airspace. However, after the 2001 attacks in America, airline traffic declined markedly.
As part of the subsequent 18-month restructuring of Nats, which had debts of £730 million, the Government and BAA each invested £65 million.
Mr Gibson-Smith said that Nats now had to focus on modernisation of its facilities and moves towards the creation of a single air traffic service for Europe.
A source in the organisation said: “The task now is very different to the one (Mr Everitt) faced three years ago. One thing we needed was a people manager.”
Mr Everitt joined Nats in June 2001 from BAA, for which he was director for group planning and strategy. He is a lawyer who joined BAA as one of its in-house solicitors.
Mr Barron began his working life as an engineering apprentice. He joined ABB Alstom Power in 1999 and within a year was running the French company’s UK operations. He is chairman of the Motorsport Development Board, a government-backed project to support Britain’s expertise in motor racing technology.
Mr Gibson-Smith said: “Paul has a strong reputation as a hands-on people manager. I have no doubt that his abilities are appropriate for the next phase of Nats’ development.”
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/ar...042178,00.html
March 18, 2004
Air traffic control chief ousted by board
BY RUSSELL HOTTEN
THE chief executive of Britain’s air traffic control service has received an estimated £276,000 payoff after its board decided that he was not the right man to complete its huge modernisation programme.
Richard Everitt is being replaced by Paul Barron, 53, president and managing director of the UK division of Alstom, the French engineering group. He takes up the job in June.
Mr Everitt was instrumental in the financial restructuring of National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which came close to collapse because of the aviation recession that followed the 2001 terrorist attacks in America.
However, his management style, described as “disciplined and thorough”, was not to everyone’s liking. One critic said yesterday that there was a Civil Service mentality in Nats.
Mr Everitt received a pay package of £385,000 last year, including bonuses. He is on a one-year contract that paid a basic £276,000 last year, and will receive 12 months’ money for loss of office, Nats said.
Mr Barron is thought to have been offered a basic salary of £300,000 with the potential to earn bonuses of up to another £150,000.
Chris Gibson-Smith, Nats chairman, yesterday paid tribute to Mr Everitt, but said: “We need someone with a new set of skills to take us forward.”
It is understood that the Nats board took the decision to replace Mr Everitt in January, but kept the news under wraps until a replacement was found. A senior Nats controller said that the news was a “total shock”.
Seven UK airlines, including British Airways and Virgin, own 42 per cent of Nats, with BAA, the airports operator, holding 4 per cent. The Government owns the remainder.
The controversial privatisation of Nats in 2001 was designed to make it a more commercial operation, and allow it to raise money for a £1 billion investment programme.
Nats makes most of its money from the fees charged to airlines for using Britain’s airspace. However, after the 2001 attacks in America, airline traffic declined markedly.
As part of the subsequent 18-month restructuring of Nats, which had debts of £730 million, the Government and BAA each invested £65 million.
Mr Gibson-Smith said that Nats now had to focus on modernisation of its facilities and moves towards the creation of a single air traffic service for Europe.
A source in the organisation said: “The task now is very different to the one (Mr Everitt) faced three years ago. One thing we needed was a people manager.”
Mr Everitt joined Nats in June 2001 from BAA, for which he was director for group planning and strategy. He is a lawyer who joined BAA as one of its in-house solicitors.
Mr Barron began his working life as an engineering apprentice. He joined ABB Alstom Power in 1999 and within a year was running the French company’s UK operations. He is chairman of the Motorsport Development Board, a government-backed project to support Britain’s expertise in motor racing technology.
Mr Gibson-Smith said: “Paul has a strong reputation as a hands-on people manager. I have no doubt that his abilities are appropriate for the next phase of Nats’ development.”
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/ar...042178,00.html
Last edited by 2 six 4; 18th Mar 2004 at 00:45.
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PAUL BARRON, CBE
Paul Barron is UK President of ALSTOM and was formerly President of
ABB ALSTOM Power. Prior to that, he was based in Lincoln as Group
Managing Director of ALSTOM's Industrial Gas Turbine business
worldwide, which he joined as an apprentice in 1967.
As UK President of ALSTOM, he is responsible for 58 companies across
Power, Rail Transport (including mass transit), Power Conversion and
Power Transmission and Distribution, which employs 14,000 people in
the UK with annual sales of over 4billion Euros.
Paul has been a champion for manufacturing in the UK and is currently
Chairman of the Energy Industries Council and a member of the CBI
President's Committee and Manufacturing Council. He is also a member
of the Board of British Trade International.
Paul has had papers published on managing cultural change and high
performance team working and has lectured on the subject around the
world.
Paul Barron is UK President of ALSTOM and was formerly President of
ABB ALSTOM Power. Prior to that, he was based in Lincoln as Group
Managing Director of ALSTOM's Industrial Gas Turbine business
worldwide, which he joined as an apprentice in 1967.
As UK President of ALSTOM, he is responsible for 58 companies across
Power, Rail Transport (including mass transit), Power Conversion and
Power Transmission and Distribution, which employs 14,000 people in
the UK with annual sales of over 4billion Euros.
Paul has been a champion for manufacturing in the UK and is currently
Chairman of the Energy Industries Council and a member of the CBI
President's Committee and Manufacturing Council. He is also a member
of the Board of British Trade International.
Paul has had papers published on managing cultural change and high
performance team working and has lectured on the subject around the
world.
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A sad day
As an long serving ATCO who went through PPP and all 9/11 etc, I think Mr Everitt has done a bloody good job of keeping NATS afloat despite Labours F**K Ups and I wish him all the very best!
Yes, Kenny seemed like a nice kind of guy. He did a reasonable job in very difficult circumstances. His major mistake, in my view, was not culling many of the no-hopers who were leading NATS in the wrong direction well before PPP, etc. Let's hope our Barron Knight learns from the past.
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Does anyone seriously believe that Mr Barron is going to be any different to any of his predecessors?. He will be "guided" by the no-hopers who were in charge prior to PPP, and the introduction of NERC, and are now in charge for the transition of Manchester to Scottish ATC Centre. This is not Mr Barons fault, he certainly has my sympathy. He will be "guided" to screw the "Operational Resources" for all they are worth, helped no doubt by the hypocrisy, parochialism, and downright greed that is often displayed on this website and in the various Operations Rooms around the country. One can guarantee that those "no- hopers" will, irrespective of results look after Number One to the detriment of us all.
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Nothing to worry about
With this guy's CV he will do a couple of days a week until the novelty wears off and then an hour a month. Probably a few dozen photo opportunities and not forgetting the country-wide unit tour. Don't you just love the part-time importance attached to running the Nation's sky........ah well....Jack of all trades, master of none! Or maybe we could cut him some slack and judge by results....if there has been no cull of the old guard in six months we will know he is here until "knighthood or honour" time and then off!
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Good luck all you NATS people. According to today's (18/03) financial times, Mr Barron's "hands on people skills" since taking over at Alstom have included 14000 redundancies. Let's hope someone briefs him properly on scratcoh and the shortage of UK ATCOs before he visits Swanwick or looks at the slice of his budget allocated to salaries! 
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I still stand by my original posting, despite 264s eloquent dismissal of my opinion. In the past few months on Pprune ATC website we have seen ATCO v ATSA, Airfield v Area, Colleagues clamouring to do overtime at the most advantageous rate instead of addressing the fundimental issue of lack of staff and most recently Band 5 units versus the rest which in my opinion was more to do with colleagues perceived "status" than a financial issue. In my opinion, Greed, "Status", Oneupmanship, Parochialism, and generally petty issues have dominated our thoughts and actions rather than the greater issues of supporting each other against "the management",
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THE ENEMY WITHIN...
DC10RM -
Totally in agreement with your original post. Despite all what the Management, Airline Group, "Barron's Court" or anybody else throws at us, the NATS staff themselves are, and always will be, our own worst enemy.
Viewed overall, we pose no collective threat or opposition to anything unsavoury emanating from Management Land - only the ATCOs have any real bargaining power, and they are completely intransigent to the dilemmas of the rest of the workforce. As long as they're OK, then everything's OK. Trouble is, they can't even agree things between themselves! (Band 5 rules! - and s*d the rest of you)
As long as this in-house apathetic state continues, then Mr Barron and his "no-hopers" can continue their good work unchallenged.
Didn't see 264's response - must have been "interesting"!!
DC10RM -
Totally in agreement with your original post. Despite all what the Management, Airline Group, "Barron's Court" or anybody else throws at us, the NATS staff themselves are, and always will be, our own worst enemy.
Viewed overall, we pose no collective threat or opposition to anything unsavoury emanating from Management Land - only the ATCOs have any real bargaining power, and they are completely intransigent to the dilemmas of the rest of the workforce. As long as they're OK, then everything's OK. Trouble is, they can't even agree things between themselves! (Band 5 rules! - and s*d the rest of you)
As long as this in-house apathetic state continues, then Mr Barron and his "no-hopers" can continue their good work unchallenged.
Didn't see 264's response - must have been "interesting"!!
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Pikman,
You forgot to add, a whole lot of trains that were delivered VERY late because they had a series of faults and didn't work prpoperly, and are now being returned to the leasing company for a better ones from another manufacturer!
You forgot to add, a whole lot of trains that were delivered VERY late because they had a series of faults and didn't work prpoperly, and are now being returned to the leasing company for a better ones from another manufacturer!
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Apologies PPrad. Maybe that response was a bit too pithy 
In the meantime I was a bit peeved by the responses which played down a pretty impressive CV of the new CEO and belittled all the NATS staff.
Can people clarify what they think should happen. Our existing managers who are all ex civil servants are called "no hopers". A bright and dynamic manager from the private sector is dismissed as likely to do no better than his predecessors yet other readily admit that our existing CEO did a pretty good job considering the really unusual and difficult circumstances.
In the meantime it is suggested the managment will try rto continue to "screw" the operational staff. We have just been awarded a 15% rise for precious little change, which included working our rostered hours on night shifts. Some screwing the staff that is .
In the meantime I was a bit peeved by the responses which played down a pretty impressive CV of the new CEO and belittled all the NATS staff.
Can people clarify what they think should happen. Our existing managers who are all ex civil servants are called "no hopers". A bright and dynamic manager from the private sector is dismissed as likely to do no better than his predecessors yet other readily admit that our existing CEO did a pretty good job considering the really unusual and difficult circumstances.
In the meantime it is suggested the managment will try rto continue to "screw" the operational staff. We have just been awarded a 15% rise for precious little change, which included working our rostered hours on night shifts. Some screwing the staff that is .
