Chemring appoints Tony Wood as its next chairman

Chemring Group announced the appointment of Tony Wood as an independent non-executive director and chairman-designate on Monday.

The FTSE 250 company said Wood would join the board on 1 October, and was set to succeed Carl-Peter Forster as chairman of the board on 1 December, following Forster's retirement on 30 November.

Carl-Peter Forster, who joined Chemring's board on 1 May 2016 and became chairman on 1 July of the same year, had led the group through a significant transformation period.

Under his leadership, Chemring said it had developed into a stronger, higher-quality, and more resilient business, with substantial investments made in both culture and infrastructure.

The board said Tony Wood would bring extensive experience to Chemring's board.

He was currently a member of the board of directors of Airbus and National Grid, and from 2018 to 2022, he served as chief executive officer of FTSE 100 company Meggitt, where he oversaw the operational and cultural transformation of the company.

Wood also held senior roles, including non-executive director and former president of ADS Group - the UK trade association for the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors.

Prior to Meggitt, he spent 15 years at Rolls-Royce, culminating in his role as president of aerospace from 2013 to 2016.

Wood holds an engineering degree from the Open University in the UK and an MBA from Insead in France.

He is a Fellow of both the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Association for Project Management.

“On behalf of the board I would like to thank Carl-Peter for his immeasurable guidance and commitment to Chemring over the past eight-and-a-half years,” said chief executive officer Michael Ord.

“He has led the board through a period of significant transformation, and he leaves the group in an excellent position to continue this success.

“We are delighted that Tony has agreed to succeed Carl-Peter as chairman of Chemring.”

Ord said he was joining at an “extremely exciting point” in Chemring's development, adding that his knowledge and understanding of the defence and aerospace sector would be invaluable.

“Tony is an extremely experienced individual with a strong business track record, and the board believes that he is the right person to oversee the next stage of the group's development.”

At 0934 BST, shares in Chemring Group were up 0.8% at 380p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.