Former CEO of V/Line Rob Barnett Featured in Executive Business Title, The CEO Magazine

Going from strength to strength Rob Barnett speaks on the success of V/Line and what the future holds for the company

by Paris Brooks

(WireNews+Co) - Sydney, Australia - 11 March 2013

Former CEO of V/Line Rob Barnett announced his resignation from the company in October last year. After seven years of record-breaking successes and consistent growth in network and patronage, Rob decided to step down, leaving the company’s General Manager of Corporate and Finance Ross Pedley as interim CEO until the position could be filled.

Rob explains the company’s history and the role he played in transforming the organisation and its network. “Back in the early 2000s, the Victorian Government had an initiative to implement a regional fast rail,” he notes. “They had a policy or an idea when they were in opposition. If they were elected to government, they would upgrade the regional rail network in Victoria and provide a fast train service to Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, and Traralgon. I was employed to close out what is called the ‘above rail piece’, which is the implementation of the fast trains, the new timetable, and gearing up V/Line to produce a 40-per-cent increase in services to those parts of Victoria. It was actually quite a dramatic transformation of regional public transport in this country.”

The organisation has experienced strong growth throughout Rob’s tenure. “When I first joined the company, we had just over 700 people, and today we have closer to 1,500 people,” he highlights. “We’ve had enormous growth, not only internally, but with the services we provide. Our patronage has more than doubled in that time as well. Growth presents its own unique challenges, so you’ve got to continually do things differently. You’ve certainly got to continue to do more with less in these environments.”

To grow V/Line’s business and network, the company has had to collaborate closely with Victoria’s state government. “The government are clearly important because they’re our shareholder and major funder for the business,” Rob explains. “The key priority for the company is to implement government policy and determine what their specific ideas are for regional public transport. From that end, it’s about working with the regional communities to make sure that we deliver things of value to them.”

As public transport is a vital service, particularly in regional areas, employees are crucial in creating the best possible customer experience. “Public transport is very much a people business, and it’s a disaggregated business if you think about it,” Rob expresses. “We operate at 80 locations across the State of Victoria, and you’re really relying on the genuine goodwill, training, and attitudes of your staff to deliver that service every day of the week. In the beginning, I discovered that the staff were absolutely excellent, they had a great attitude, but very little money had been spent investing in their skills.

The full story can be found here (http://www.theceomagazine.com.au/profiles/VLine/RobBarnett.pdf).

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