UATP President, Mr. Ousmane Thiam, UITP most senior Vice-President, becomes UITP President, effective mid-October 2011

Press Release

Brussels, 21 September 2011

Alain Flausch to follow Hans Rat as Secretary General of UITP

The members of the Executive Board of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) have selected Alain Flausch as new Secretary General. He will take over from Hans Rat, who will retire after running the Association for 13 years. This appointment will be effective by the end of the year. Mr. Ousmane Thiam, most senior Vice-President, will follow Alain Flausch as President, effective mid-October 2011.  

As the CEO of the Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles (STIB), the public transport company in Brussels, for the last 11 years, and President of UITP since 2009, Alain Flausch has long-standing experience in the public transport sector and in UITP.

Since April 2000, Mr Flausch has led the STIB through an in-depth cultural change, conducting a complete renewal both of the commercial approach and the corporate management, setting a new company culture where clients are at the very heart of the service provision. Since 1999, STIB ridership has increased by more than 100% and last June STIB received the '4-star Recognised for Excellence' label awarded by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM).

Alain Flausch's election acknowledges his strong commitment to UITP. Among other roles, he has been a member of the UITP Policy Board since 2004 and has been President of the Association since 2009. He has been a member of the UITP Business and Human Resources Management Commission and the Metropolitan Railway Committee and chaired the UITP European Assembly.

"UITP gains a highly experienced person both in the private and the public sectors. He is strongly committed to UITP and to PTx2, the ambition to double the public transport market share worldwide by 2025. He actually contributed to it by achieving impressive results with the Brussels public transport network. I am convinced that UITP is in good hands," said Hans Rat.

In accordance with the UITP by-laws, Ousmane Thiam, most senior Vice-President, will take over Alain Flausch's mandate as President. Mr Thiam is President of the Conseil Exécutif des Transports urbains de Dakar (CETUD), Senegal, and President of the African Association of Public Transport (UATP), acting as the African Division of UITP. His mandate will be confirmed at the next UITP Executive Board meeting, to be held in mid-October 2011 in Milan.

Current UITP Secretary General Hans Rat is retiring after 13 years at the helm of the Association. During his time, UITP grew and diversified its membership to embrace the full public transport supply chain. Today, UITP has an impressive worldwide presence thanks to the establishment of 11 regional/country offices.

"Hans Rat's passion for the sector and his worldwide strategic vision for the Association have pushed the sector to be ambitious and it will be an exciting challenge to continue in his footsteps," stated Alain Flausch. "He has created a strong legacy at UITP and amongst its membership through his personal commitment. UITP thanks him for all his achievements."