First Student Appoints New President

CINCINNATI — Paul Osland has been appointed as the new president of First Student, the company announced on Tuesday.

As previously reported in July, Osland was named interim president upon the announcement of former president Dennis Maple’s departure from the organization.

“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Paul Osland as president of First Student,” said Matthew Gregory, FirstGroup’s chief executive. “I know that Paul will be able to build on the progress achieved in the business to date, including a return to revenue and fleet growth and the development of industry-leading safety performance. This will enable First Student to achieve its full potential alongside First Transit in the North American mobility services sector.”

Osland joined First Student in 2016 as chief operating officer. In this role, he was responsible for the overall day-to-day operations of the organization, according to a news release from First Student.

"I'm excited to be taking on the role of president at First Student,” Osland said. “I’m very proud of the visible progress the team has made over recent years and look forward to continuing this work into the future as we build on the market-leading platform we have established.”

Since joining the company, Osland has contributed to the improvement of First Student through his operational leadership and the delivery of several key business improvement initiatives. He has focused on strengthening the operating structure and continuing to build an emphasis on process discipline, helping First Student achieve contract retention rates, record customer satisfaction scores, and leading employee engagement scores, according to the school bus contractor.

Prior to joining First Student, Osland worked for Chicago Public Schools as both chief facility officer and executive director of transportation. He also held a variety of commercial and operational leadership roles at other organizations, including positions within Fortune 100 companies.