Directorate Change

6 December 2013 FirstGroup appoints John McFarlane as Chairman FirstGroup plc announces that John McFarlane will join the board with immediateeffect, and succeed Martin Gilbert as Chairman effective 1 January 2014, atwhich time Martin will retire from the board. John is chairman of Aviva plc, the UK's largest insurance group by assets,having joined the board in September 2011, during which period he spent eightmonths in an executive capacity pending the appointment of a new CEO.Considerable progress has been made at Aviva under his leadership. John is also non-executive director of Westfield Holdings Ltd, the world'slargest retail mall operator headquartered in Sydney, with flagshipdevelopments in London, and of Old Oak Holdings Ltd, a London-basedprivately-owned financial holding company. John spent over 38 years in the international financial institutions sector,including ten years as CEO of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited.ANZ is now one of the top 20 banks in the world by market capitalisation. Priorto that, he was an executive director at Standard Chartered, and head ofCitibank in the UK. His early career was with Ford in Dagenham inmanufacturing. More recently, in October 2008, he joined the board of the RoyalBank of Scotland Group as a non-executive director to assist in its recoverypost the global financial crisis. John Sievwright, Senior Independent Non-Executive Director, said: "On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to announce the appointment of JohnMcFarlane as Chairman of FirstGroup. John is an outstanding leader withextensive international experience and a track record of leading strategicchange and value creation that speaks for itself. I am delighted to welcome himto the Group where his experience will be invaluable as we drive forward ourplans to improve our returns, resilience and growth prospects. "I would also like to pay tribute to Martin Gilbert who has been involved withthe Group since its formation and has been instrumental in establishing itsposition as the leading transport operator in the UK and North America. Onbehalf of the Board and everyone at FirstGroup I would like to thank him forhis enormous contribution to the Group over many years", he said. Commenting, John McFarlane said: "I am pleased to be joining FirstGroup at an important stage of its evolution.The Group has short-term challenges which we will naturally need to overcome,but I am convinced it has significant opportunity to benefit from itsmarket-leading positions and to deliver sustainable long-term value forshareholders. I look forward to playing a pivotal role in its future." This disclosure is made pursuant to paragraph 9.6.12R of the Financial ConductAuthority's Listing Rules. There are no other details required to be disclosedunder Listing Rule 9.6.13R. Contacts at FirstGroup:Rachael Borthwick, Group Corporate Communications Director,Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7291 0512 / +44 (0) 7771 945 432 Contacts at Brunswick PR:Michael Harrison/Andrew Porter, Tel: +44 (0) 207 404 5959 Notes to editors: John McFarlane assumed the chairmanship of Aviva plc in July 2012, havingjoined the board as chairman designate in September 2011. He has extensiveexperience in executive and non-executive roles, and has spent over 38 years inthe international financial institutions sector and has over 20 years of publiccompany board experience as chairman, CEO, executive director and non-executivedirector. He began his career at the Ford Motor Company in manufacturing. In October 2008 he joined the board of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc asa non-executive director having retired from ANZ in September 2007 after tenyears as chief executive officer. ANZ is one of Australia's largest companies,the largest company in New Zealand, and one of the world's top 20 banks. InSeptember 2007 ANZ was recognised as the leading bank globally for leadershipin the Fortune 500, and the world's leading bank in the Dow JonesSustainability Index. Before joining ANZ, John was a group executive director at Standard Charteredplc, responsible initially for Group Strategy, later for North East Asia basedin Hong Kong, and subsequently for South Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe andthe Americas. Prior to this, he was head of Citicorp Investment Bank Ltd, andCitibank in the UK and Ireland. John is currently a non-executive director ofWestfield Holdings Limited, and of Old Oak Holdings Limited. John has served as president of the International Monetary Conference (theannual meeting of the heads of the world's major banks and central banks), waschairman of the Australian Bankers' Association, and a director of the BusinessCouncil of Australia, the Australian Graduate School of Management, theFinancial Regulatory Review Board, the Foreign Affairs Council, and thegoverning body of the Economics Research Institute for the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations and East Asia. In the UK, he was a member of the AuditingPractices Board, the London Stock Exchange Council, the Securities Association(UK securities regulator), and the Bank of England Financial Law Review Panel.In 1992, he chaired The McFarlane Report - the review of "The FutureDevelopment of Auditing in the United Kingdom and Ireland." John, who has UK and Australian citizenship, was born in Dumfries, Scotland,and was educated at Dumfries Academy, the University of Edinburgh, CranfieldSchool of Management, and the London Business School. Cranfield later awardedJohn its inaugural Distinguished Alumnus Award as well as an honorarydoctorate. John has banking and securities fellowships in the UK, Australia andHong Kong, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. About FirstGroup plc: FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is the leading transport operator in the UK andNorth America. With revenues of more than £6.5 billion and around 120,000employees, we transport more than 2.5 billion passengers every year. Each ofour five divisions is a leader in its field: First Student is the largestprovider of student transportation in North America with a fleet of around50,000 yellow school buses, First Transit is one of the largest providers ofoutsourced transit management and contracting services in the US, whileGreyhound is the only national operator of scheduled intercity coach servicesacross North America. In the UK, FirstGroup is one of Britain's largest busoperators running a fleet of some 6,500 buses, and we operate approximately aquarter of the UK passenger rail network, carrying over 310 million passengersa year. Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world,keeping people moving and communities prospering. Further information can befound at www.firstgroup.com.