Freight
Natasha checks out of rail with pride Business Services Director for DRS Natasha Hanson on her time within the industry
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atasha Hanson, Business Services Director for Direct Rail Services (DRS), is in a reflective mood as she moves closer to the end of her tenure. With Natasha in post, DRS has won a number of equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) awards and was named as top employer at 2019’s Women In Rail awards. Individually, Natasha has been recognised by the Rail Delivery Group for the work she has done around ED&I and was also a finalist in the Institute of Directors North West and Isle of Man Director of the Year Awards 2020. Natasha will leave the rail industry at the end of 2020 but does so with tremendous pride in the strides that DRS has made around ED&I, driving forward women in the rail industry and introducing training programmes and new initiatives around inclusivity, ensuring all 34 | December 2020
colleagues, from all backgrounds, are supported – a culture now firmly embedded across DRS. Natasha said: “I believe really passionately in what we do. I have loved working in rail. It’s been an absolutely first-rate experience and the people at DRS are the most exceptional group I have ever worked with. I’ve been very proud to pull on the DRS uniform on an almost daily basis.” Natasha initially joined DRS from parent company the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in January 2017 on an interim basis when NDA’s subsidiary required help with the development of its people agenda. DRS liked what Natasha brought to the team and, in turn, Natasha liked DRS. An opportunity arose to make the move a permanent one with a wide-ranging role that combined responsibility for HR, IT & cyber, communication and
stakeholder engagement, as well as establishing a new training academy, training programmes, leadership development and looking after DRS’s corporate services. Business development goals Natasha explained: “I came to DRS with operations and some railway experience, but I wanted something more than a HR role. I wanted to broaden my leadership experience and the Business Services Director role has enabled me to help the business develop while also grow as a leader.” Working with DRS MD at the time, Debbie Francis, provided Natasha with inspiration and direction and it quickly became clear that both women were on a similar page when it came to people. Natasha said: “Debbie was very receptive to the ideas I had around people railbusinessdaily.com
