Appointments: June-July

Posted on 16 Jul 2012
Mark Redwood

Achilles, a global expert in supply chain management, has made seasoned businessman Mark Redwood its new chairman. Mr Redwood has previously been president of sales and trading in the markets division of Thomson Reuters. He joined Reuters in December 2002 following the acquisition of AVT Technologies Ltd, a specialist in foreign exchange transaction technology. Mr Redwood joined AVT as a founding shareholder and CEO in 1989.


Citroën’s Scott Michael has been promoted to the position of head of commercial vehicles & business centre programme. Mr Michael takes up his new role, which will be based at Citroën UK’s new Coventry head office, after 18 months as commercial vehicle operations manager. He has been with Citroën since 2003, when he started as fleet analyst. Subsequently, he served as an area fleet sales manager and as commercial vehicle sales manager.


Professor Laurence Williams was appointed as chair of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management. He will take up the post in November 2012, for a period of four years. Mr Williams is currently Professor of Nuclear Safety at the University of Central Lancashire. He has a long and distinguished career in the field of nuclear regulation, including as the government’s chief inspector of Nuclear Installations from 1998 to 2005.


Three former apprentices have joined skills organisation Semta to help businesses improve their competitiveness through effective training and development. Their experience means they are well placed to advise companies on recruitment, training and funding of apprentices so that companies get good returns from their investment. Ashley Sandford is one of the new business partners at Semta, with responsibility for the North West and Cumbria, along with Paul Kerwin, while Lee Griffiths has responsibility for the South East.


Frances O’Grady is to become the Trades Union Congress’ next general secretary, taking over from Brendan Barber at the end of the year. John Cridland, CBI director-general, said: “I’m sure Frances will provide the union movement with strong leadership in challenging times. In my dealings with her, I have always found her to be a powerful advocate for fairness, opportunity, and the modern workplace.”


The Manufacturing Advisory Board appointed a six sigma Master Black Belt as head of supply chain development. Phil Jones will focus on looking for supply chain opportunities that will help both SMEs and large enterprises develop their businesses. He will work across all sectors but with a particular focus on targeting advanced manufacturers with high growth potential, helping them create a sustainable supply chain. Before joining MAS, Jones spent three years at the turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems, where he built and ran its aftermarket supply chain. He has worked for 16 years in the aerospace sector at General Electric and Honeywell Aerospace.


Volex plc, the global provider of electrical, digital and optical cabling and interconnect solutions, appointed Professor Ricardo Hamad to the post of general manager of Volex Brazil to lead the growth of the company’s operations in the region. An expert in operations management, process engineering and both six-sigma and lean manufacturing philosophies, Hamad originally trained in mechanical engineering at ITA (Aeronautical Institute of Technology) in Brazil. He has an MSc in Logistic Systems from University of São Paulo and has had a distinguished career in operations, logistics and supply chain management with companies such as Monsanto, Promon and Ericcson. 


Rockwell Automation appointed Martin Walder to lead its oil and gas, water, process, automotive and energy teams. Mr Walder, who previously worked for Rockwell from 1989 to 2001 in sales and business management roles, rejoins after seven years as managing director of ABB Robotics and a period of time in private equity. Walder has also been active on the CBI’s Manufacturing Council.


Skipton-based Fibrelite, the manufacturer of composite access covers, has made a number of senior appointments and implemented a graduate international training programme. Jo Stott was appointed head of marketing, while four graduates being recruited and two more starting before September 2012. Ash Pardoe was promoted to the role of European sales director, after working in the US office for eighteen months as vice president of sales.  


McLaren Automotive appointed Mike Flewitt as chief operating officer. The position is a new and strategic addition to the executive team and comes as the company embarks on a new period of growth. Mr Flewitt’s role will encompass operations, purchasing and logistics, vehicle programmes and technical development. Previously, Flewitt was vice president of manufacturing, Ford of Europe, and corporate officer, Ford Motor Company. Before joining Ford, he held senior manufacturing and operations roles at TWR Group Limited, AutoNova AB and Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motor Cars.


Graham Muff has been appointed composites manager at the Norfolk-based Mussett Technology Group, which supplies composite structures and components to Formula Two, M-Sport and a number of F1 teams. Mr Muff is experienced in the composites and automotive engineering industries and worked as composites manager at Racing Technology Norfolk. He previously worked in various roles within the motorsport composites industry including  at ASTEC supporting the TWR Silk Cut Jaguar sportscar team, along with Team Lotus in F1 and Team Roberts in MotoGP.


Bentley Motors appointed Dr Wolfgang Schreiber as its new chairman and chief executive, effective September 1. Dr Schreiber joins Bentley from his current role as CEO at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. He succeeds Wolfgang Dürheimer who will become a member of the board of management for technical development at Audi AG. Dr Schreiber joined the Volkswagen Group in 1984. He was made head of transmission and drivetrain development in 1996, and moved to Bugatti Engineering in 2003 to take up the post of technical director and later managing director of the company.


Manufacturers’ organisation EEF appointed Liz Lynne, a former Liberal Democrat MP and MEP, to its main board. Ms Lynne worked extensively with business and manufacturing during her period as MP for Rochdale from 1992 to 1997 and later as MEP for the West Midlands from 1997 until earlier this year. She became first vice president of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee in the European Parliament in 2009.


Ivo Schaedler was appointed general manager of speciality chemicals company Sika UK, the British  subsidiary of the Swiss owned Sika Group. Mr Schaedler worked for the company for 15 years at its head office in Switzerland. His most recent position was head of the company’s contractor and industry business units.


Alison Bettac was appointed director of the AMRC Training Centre, which will open in autumn 2013. Previously director of HR at Firth Rixson, Bettac will be responsible for the centre’s strategic and operation management. Around 250 people will enter each year for high-level apprentice training.


Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has appointed Henrik Wilhelmsmeyer director for mainland China, with effect from July 1. The new role reflects the growing importance of the region to the super luxury automotive manufacturer. Mr Wilhelmsmeyer has worked in senior roles for BMW Group for a number of years, the last six of which have been in China. He is currently head of the China South Region for BMW and was previously head of dealer development. The luxury car maker has also appointed Giles Taylor as design director, starting on July 1. Taylor replaces Ian Cameron, who retires from the role he has held since 1999. After his design studies in the United Kingdom, Taylor initially gathered experience in several international design roles. He was head of design for two model series at Jaguar and joined the Rolls-Royce design team in April 2011 as head of exterior design.


Marc Saunders has joined e2V technologies as director of group marketing and technology, replacing interim director Brewster Barclay. Saunders was previously head of UK sales and group marketing at metrology equipment maker Renishaw in Wootton-under-Edge. Marc’s old position at Renishaw is being divided between three other jobs; group sales development director, UK general manager and head of communication.


Fabrice Bregier, previously Airbus’ chief operating officer, took over as Airbus president and CEO, succeeding Tom Enders, who has now become the CEO of Airbus’ parent company, EADS. Bregier started his five year tenure with the appointment of the Airbus Executive Committee.