The International Distributions Services plc (IDS) has announced that Emma Gilthorpe will be Royal Mail’s next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and will join the company on 1 May 2024.

Emma is currently Chief Operating Officer at Heathrow Airport where she is responsible for the running of one of the world’s busiest hub airports.

IDS said that Emma brings extensive experience of working in large, complex and high profile regulated infrastructure businesses and has a proven track record of delivering successful change programmes whilst improving operational performance and productivity.

Emma has held a variety of senior roles at Heathrow since joining in 2009 including leading Strategy, Regulation and Sustainability.

Establishing and leading Heathrow’s expansion programme Emma oversaw the airport’s response to the pandemic, ensuring demand could be met safely, sustainably and efficiently whilst driving up service levels.

She previously worked in a variety of strategy, policy and commercial roles in the telecommunications sector at BT and Cable and Wireless.

Emma Gilthorpe said: “It is an exciting time to be joining Royal Mail at this crucial period for the company. Royal Mail is a great British brand with a long and proud history. Now is the time to ensure it has a successful future too, working in partnership with our employees, customers and all our stakeholders to continue to modernise Royal Mail and deliver the high standards of service our customers rightly expect.”

Martin Seidenberg, Group CEO IDS plc, said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Emma as CEO of Royal Mail Group. Emma has an impressive track record of delivering major strategic change programmes whilst driving up performance. She will bring a customer and employee-centric approach to delivering Royal Mail’s transformation for the benefit of all our stakeholders, and I look forward to working closely with her to ensure Royal Mail reaches its true potential.”