Serco boss Mark Irwin to retire after 12 years
13 January 2025, 08:14
Mr Irwin will leave on February 28 and be replaced as chief executive by Anthony Kirby, who currently heads up the group’s UK and Europe division.
Government outsourcer Serco has announced its boss Mark Irwin will be retiring after 12 years at the company.
Mr Irwin will leave on February 28 and be replaced as chief executive by Anthony Kirby, who currently heads up the group’s UK and Europe division.
The group, which runs security, transport and immigration contracts, has undergone a significant transformation over the past decade.
Mr Irwin joined the company in 2013 and took on the top job in 2022, taking over from the grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, Rupert Soames.
The business had faced issues including overcharging on a contract to provide electronic tagging of offenders, which cost more than £68 million to repay.
More recently, it has come under fire for delays in fitting some offenders with electronic tags after they had been released from prison, having taking over the Ministry of Justice’s tagging contract last year.
Some 1,700 prisoners were released early from their sentences in September as part of the Government’s plan to tackle overcrowding.
Serco is expecting to report an underlying profit of about £270 million for the latest financial year, 9% higher than the previous year, following recent efforts to boost profits.
Mr Irwin said: “It has been a true privilege to lead Serco and I am delighted with the progress we have made in the last few years, especially on keeping our colleagues safer, delivering consistently strong financial performance and developing the biggest pipeline in more than a decade to meet our strategic growth goals.
“I know that Anthony will continue to build on these solid foundations.”
John Rishton, the chair of Serco, said: “I am delighted that Anthony is taking on the role of group chief executive. Since we attracted Anthony from Compass Group, he has been part of our internal succession planning.”
Incoming boss Mr Kirby will gain a base yearly salary of £845,000 when he takes on the role from March, as well as pension contributions, bonus opportunities and long-term share incentives.
