A good choice
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The appointment of R.L.E. Lawrence to replace Sir Daniel Pettit as chairman of the National Freight Corporation is one of the major appointments to be made in road transport circles this decade. His arrival in road transport from a railway career may give rise to speculation in some quarters as to the future role of NEC. Any fears in this respect are groundless.
Bobby Lawrence is a total transport man with a personality not unlike the chairman he replaces. Indeed it would be difficult to contemplate a better choice. We are convinced he will continue to develop the NFC along similar lines to his predecessor, with commercial interests of paramount importance.
As a former manager of the Sundries Division of British Rail he knows something of the problems of road transport. His short sojourn with the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board has given him an insight into another acitivity not unconnected with road transport.
The appointment is not, as had been feared, a political one, or if it is, the politicians can be sure that the new chairman's commercial instinct will soon submerge political pressures. Bobby Lawrence is nobody's yes-man. His is an appointment which should meet with the entire approval of both the public and private sectors of the industry.