A world leader in high performance transmissions for the motorsport and automotive industries, Xtrac, has announced that Joe Greenwell is to be appointed non-executive chairman with effect from July 2018.
Having recently joined the main board as one of three new non-executive directors, Greenwell will take over the role from Peter Digby, who becomes company president. Xtrac’s chief executive, Adrian Moore will reportedly continue to head up the executive team responsible for day-to-day operations.
Joe Greenwell has most recently served as chief executive of the UK government’s Automotive Investment Organisation established in 2013 and now part of the Department for International Trade.
He is also chair of the RAC Foundation and has served as a board member of the High Value Manufacturing catapult since 2012.
Greenwell’s almost 50-year career in the motor industry has included many senior roles, including chairman and CEO of Jaguar Cars before being appointed chairman of Ford of Britain. In recognition of his services to the automotive industry Greenwell was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list in 2011.
Working alongside Digby, both the chairman and president roles will focus on Xtrac investing in new equipment and additional staff to increase capacity and improve efficiency to further strengthen the core motorsport business, with an additional focus in transferring applicable technologies to the wider high performance automotive sector.
This latest significant investment follows a buyout of Xtrac by Inflexion Private Equity announced in September.
Greenwell commented: “I’ve followed Xtrac with interest from its first ever participation in The Manufacturer MX Awards, when I was on the judging panel back in 2010. Despite being a new entrant, Xtrac took top honours in the Advanced Manufacturing Category, [it also took home the coveted title of Manufacturer of the Year at The Manufacturer MX Awards 2014].
“I was not surprised to see Xtrac returning again to be crowned the overall winner in 2014; it’s an archetypal up-to-the-minute manufacturing company that sets a benchmark for other SMEs to follow – operating in a sector forming a key part of the UK government’s industrial strategy.”
