Former easyJet CCO Mike Cooper is Eurostar’s new Chief Executive.

High-speed rail provider Eurostar has appointed Mike Cooper as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective Monday 12 March.

Cooper, currently CEO of delivery service firm Yodel, takes over from Nicolas Petrovic, who departs Eurostar at the end of February to become CEO, Siemens, France.

As the former Deputy CEO and MD Mainland Europe of Arriva, Cooper holds experience leading the European transport business with responsibility for rail, bus and trams across 13 countries.

Pior to that, he was the Chief Commercial Officer of easyJet, prior to its flotation in 2000 until 2005 and has also held the post of MD Portland Travel, part of Thomson Travel Group.

Clare Hollingsworth, Chairman of Eurostar, said: “We are delighted that Mike will be joining Eurostar as CEO as he brings a wealth of expertise to our business.

“With his strong track record of leading a major European transport business across multiple countries and his extensive experience of key consumer travel brands he is perfectly placed to lead the company into its next phase of growth”.

World Duty Free is set to debut at London St Pancras International rail station in early 2018.

MILESTONE 2017

Eurostar provides direct rail links between the UK and mainland European destinations including Paris, Brussels, Calais, Lille, Lyon, Avignon, Marseille and the French Alps.

As reported, Eurostar recently celebrated 10 years of service from its London hub at St Pancras International, which serves EU rail routes to destinations including Paris Gare du Nord, Lille and Brussels.

The timing coincided with news that World Duty Free Group is set to complete construction of its first store in the departures area of the station early this year.