Serco Middle East appoints Samantha Rowles as Operations Director – Transport

Samantha Rowles has been appointed as Operations Director of Serco Middle East’s transport division. In this role, she is responsible for leading over 1,200 employees in the company’s aviation operations, air navigation services and rail business and holds accountability for the sector’s profit and loss. In addition, client engagement is key to her new role, and she is tasked with ensuring successful delivery of services to all transport contracts and creating organic growth.  

Samantha holds a B.A.(Honours) in Business from Nottingham Trent University and has over 10 years of experience in the region. Her most recent role was as Serco Middle East’s Growth Operations and Enablement Director wherein she successfully managed a high-performing team of 18 across strategy, bidding, solutions, transition, marketing and communications. Prior to Serco, she led teams at AECOM and Atkins and built a solid reputation for leading growth strategies across all sectors, including transportation. 

Samantha joined Serco in 2019 as an Executive Leadership Team member, reporting directly to Serco Middle East’s CEO Phil Malem. At the time of her joining, the percentage of women on the team was only 27% and she has played an instrumental role in bringing that number up to its current 42%. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion and serves as the executive sponsor for Serco Inspire, a network that ensures Serco’s female talent feel valued, confident and equipped to progress within the company.