Katy Taylor

Chief Executive Officer Wightlink

Last Reviewed: September 26, 2026

Executive Summary

Katy Taylor is Chief Executive Officer of Wightlink, the ferry company serving the Isle of Wight across the Solent. She took over in August 2024 from Keith Greenfield, who retired after nine years in the role. She came from customer and strategy leadership rather than from shipping: she was Chief Customer Officer of Southern Water and before that Chief Customer and Strategy Officer of the Go-Ahead Group, the bus and rail operator. In the job she has emphasised community relations, a sensitive area for an operator on which Island residents depend.

Career Highlights

• Chief Executive Officer of Wightlink since 19 August 2024, succeeding Keith Greenfield.
• Director of Wightlink Limited since 22 August 2024.
• Director of the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce since October 2024.
• Chief Customer Officer of Southern Water from 2021 until joining Wightlink.
• Chief Customer and Strategy Officer of the Go-Ahead Group, whose businesses include the Isle of Wight bus operator Southern Vectis.

Professional Journey

Taylor’s background is in communications and customer strategy. A local newspaper profile in late 2024 called her “a PR professional”. At the Go-Ahead Group she was Chief Customer and Strategy Officer; the group runs bus and train services, including Southern Vectis on the Isle of Wight. “Having visited the Isle of Wight in my previous roles over the past 12 years,” she said on her appointment, “I am looking forward to spending more time on the Island, both for business and pleasure.” In 2021 she became Chief Customer Officer of Southern Water.

Wightlink announced her appointment as chief executive in May 2024, and she started on 19 August. Her predecessor, Keith Greenfield, had led the company for nine years, investing in its fleet and ports and introducing Victoria of Wight, which Wightlink calls England’s first hybrid energy ferry. She said she was joining “the Solent’s leading ferry operator as it transforms its business to meet future challenges”. Coverage at the time listed decarbonising its ships and shore facilities to meet net zero targets, and building closer links with local communities, among her priorities. She was appointed a director of Wightlink Limited that month and joined the board of the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce in October 2024.

In an interview with the Isle of Wight Observer that November she said she wanted to rebuild trust with Island residents. She spoke about travel for NHS patients and elderly residents, fares within the company’s financial limits, and the value of tourism to the Island’s economy, and committed to continuing quarterly public consultation sessions.

Education

No education record was found in any source read, including Wightlink’s announcements, Companies House and local press coverage of her appointment.