Diploma appoints Richard Ingram as CEO

FTSE 250 industrial components distributor Diploma said on Tuesday that Richard Ingram will join the board on 23 April as chief executive officer designate.

This follows an earlier announcement that Bruce Thompson will retire at the end of September 2018. The company said he has agreed to stand down from the board and hand over his CEO responsibilities to Ingram at the board meeting on 8 May.

Diploma said Ingram brings “a wide range of executive and leadership expertise” to the group, with proven experience of growing international industrial businesses. Since May 2014 he has been president of Smiths Detection, a division of Smiths with revenues of around £700m.

Having qualified as an engineer, his early career included five years in the oil and petrochemical industry at Shell, followed by eight years in product marketing and sales at Lucas Automotive. More recently, he held senior management positions in the aerospace industry for 12 years at TRW Aeronautical Systems and at Goodrich Corporation.

Chairman John Nicholas said: "Richard is a proven, successful business leader and I'm delighted to welcome him to the board. He brings strategic vision and a strong track record of creating value, he is the ideal person to lead Diploma in the next phase of evolution and growth and we all look forward to working with him."