Susanna Vanzie, the former CEO at the National Bus Company resigned on May 18th at the end of her probationary period. Today we asked her why. Vanzie said that it was always something that she knew she could not fully commit to:
Susanna Vanzie, President - FCD Board
"You know, that position when I took it on, it was at all agreed, um, with the minister that it would be an interim. And if you look back at the earlier announcements, he had mentioned that it was interim. So I think a lot of people miss that. And, um, it came to a surprise to a lot. And I think people came to their own conclusions, right? Um, but I, um, I have been in the bus industry, you know, as an operator and, uh, also I'm a shareholder in the company. And so, um, when I was asked, um, if I would participate as CEO, I jumped on it because I wanted to be a part of, um, making this a reality. And I, and I know how difficult the first few months of starting any business can be, you know, and, and something of this magnitude with, um, people coming from, I get expectations, right? Different people having different expectations. Um, you need, uh, you need to know the path and to have the strength to continue on that path, despite a lot of the noise that comes with something new and something that can be so politically polarizing. Um, so I, I wanted to, to, to, oh, and I said, give my pound of flesh and you know, um, so I did, uh, I knew early on that I wasn't going to be able to commit long-term. Um, and because I have other responsibilities, but for, uh, the time that I was there, I literally, the minute I was asked, I dropped everything because there was no, there was no half in half out. I mean, the magnitude of this is, is, is tremendous. And I think oftentimes people don't see the other side of the level of work that's required."
"I know that what we see on the street might not be the most glamorous or, um, you know, the prettier side of things. But I think like I had mentioned, um, when you and I had spoken, you have to start somewhere and we do have a plan and we do have a vision for where we want to go. And these are some growing pains, but we'll get through it."
Reporter
"Do you believe in the, um, the possibilities of the company?"
Susanna Vanzie, President - FCD Board
"I do. I strongly believe in the possibilities as a shareholder. That wasn't an automatic thing. You had a choice. You could remain as a shareholder or you could, you know, cash out and leave. And, and my brother and I decided to remain a shareholder because we believe in the, in the, in the concept and in the, in the company. Um, your question regarding having seen the challenges, um, I, you know, we inherited a fleet of various brands, um, various, uh, I don't want to say ages in mechanical issues, but also the, the, the ages of the buses, I don't know what to call it, right. Um, and so just, just taking that into consideration, I mean, you've got six, seven different brands of buses or even more. Um, some are 20 years old, some are six years old, some are 30 years old."
"Um, and the challenges that, that come with that having inherited that, uh, I also think that perhaps as operators, I have to say, I think we could have done a better job of communicating to our staff of what was taking place. Cause I think, um, probably heard some of the concerns and, you know, I've heard it of the, of the staff, you know, where they feel, um, a little bit, um, excluded. I think that's the word that I've heard, you know? So I think, um, I, I feel like as operators, because we were there walking along this process, I think we could have communicated a little bit better to them prior to NBC coming into place."
