Blue Bird Appoints Director of HR from Search by Hanold Associates

Blue Bird

CHICAGO (Mar. 5, 2021) ― Blue Bird Corporation, the most innovative and technologically advanced designer and manufacturer of school buses, has appointed Ursula McNeill as Director of Human Resources. Hanold Associates’ Kile Hanold and Katrina Prospero led the Georgia-based search.

McNeill comes to Blue Bird from IBM where she served as Global Director, Executive Succession and Development. As Director of HR for Blue Bird, McNeill be a key leader within the HR function as well as a strategic partner to the functional leaders in the broader organization. Reporting to Felix Lin, the Vice President of HR & External Affairs, McNeill will overhaul the existing programs for talent management by developing modern, self-sustaining programs that will empower the ongoing development and engagement of Blue Bird’s employees.

“Ursula will be a fantastic addition to the Blue Bird team,” said Katrina Prospero, Hanold Partner. “She is the cultural champion and strategic leader needed to create lasting change at an organization built on tradition.”

Blue Bird’s longevity and reputation in the school bus industry have made it an iconic American brand. Founded in 1927, the Blue Bird Corporation (Nasdaq: BLBD) has nearly a century of history building buses and has contributed to the popularization of both steel body buses as well as the now famous school bus yellow. Blue Bird distinguishes itself from its principal competitors by its singular focus on the design, engineering, manufacture and sale of school buses and related parts. As the only manufacturer of chassis and body production specifically designed for school bus applications, Blue Bird is recognized as an industry leader for school bus innovation, safety, product quality/reliability/durability, operating costs and drivability. The company has grown to more than 2,200 employees and had its best financial performance in 10 years in 2019 with revenues of $1.02B.

About Hanold Associates

Hanold Associates HR & Diversity Executive Search is a retained boutique executive search firm focused on HR and Diversity & Inclusion Officers and Board Directors. Our client list is diverse across industries, geographies and business scenarios, and culture is at the core of everything we do. Our clients include Abercrombie & Fitch, Allstate, American Airlines, Apollo, Big Ten Conference, Biogen, Blackstone, Carnival Corp., ClubCorp, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Domino’s Pizza, eBay, Electronic Arts, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Fiat-Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, Fossil, Gucci, Kellogg, Kohler, L Catterton, Live Nation Entertainment, Major League Baseball, McDonald’s, Moderna, National Football League, The New York Times, Nike, Northwestern University, Patagonia, REI, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, SC Johnson, Tom Brady’s TB12, TPG, Under Armour, Vail Resorts, Wikimedia and Zoom, among others.