Manuel Achadinha has been appointed to be the chief operating officer of Grande West Transportation Group Inc. (Grande West).
Achadinha will succeed Jonathan Leskewich, who has transitioned to a focus on product development.
For more than 25 years, Achadinha has built a reputation within the transportation industry for his strong work ethic, results-oriented drive and exceptional ability to forge and maintain strategic alliances. Achadinha was previously president and CEO of BC Transit from 2008 to 2018, where he led the development and implementation of BC Transit’s evolving business strategy. During his 10 years as CEO, annual revenue and ridership grew to more than C$261 million (US$206.2 million) and 51 million passengers, respectively. He represented BC Transit with riders around the province, as well as partners, businesses, government leaders and other key external groups.
He also focused on BC Transit’s sustainability efforts with a commitment to lead the growth of transit-oriented communities across the province. Previously, Achadinha served at the British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., most recently as vice president, Terminal Operations, where he was responsible for overseeing the operation of 48 terminals along the coast of British Columbia. Prior to that, he held governmental positions with the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations as well as the Ministry of Employment and Investment. Achadinha holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and a Master of Public Information, both from the University of Victoria in British Columbia.
“On behalf of our board and management team, we are privileged to welcome an industry titan such as Manuel to our company,” said William Trainer, CEO, Grande West. “Manuel brings over two decades of leadership experience in the transportation industry, where he built a truly world-class transit authority for British Columbia. His extensive experience and industry knowledge will be instrumental in accelerating our growth as we expand our market dealer network, scale production and capacity, and market our new line of innovative electric buses.
“In conjunction with the appointment of Manuel, due to the advancements in Grande West’s new product lines – particularly with the electrification of the Vicinity™ buses – Jonathan Leskewich will be moving to a product development role. Jonathan has over 17 years of transportation experience, and 22 years heavy duty experience with alternative fuels, emissions, compliance and regulations. He will continue to bring his in-depth understanding of the entire product development process at Grande West to the new role and will direct our team in the life-cycle of the continuously improving line of Vicinity buses.”
The company has also granted an additional 300,000 incentive stock options to Achadinha at an exercise price of $2.40 for a period of five years. The options will vest in equal tranches every six months over a three-year period.
