James Fisher and Sons, the marine services group which owns a string of north-east businesses, has announced the appointment of a new chief executive.
Eoghan O’Lionaird will take on the role on October 1, replacing Nick Henry who has been at the helm as CEO for the last 15 years.
However, Mr Henry will remain employed by James Fisher until March 2020 to ensure a smooth transition.
Mr Lionaird, who is an engineer by background, comes from FTSE 250 company Spectris, which supplies precision instruments and controls, where he was divisional CEO.
He has also held senior roles at Danaher Corporation and Royal Philips Electronics after starting his career in Japan with Mitsui Kinzoku.
James Fisher has a number of entities in the north-east, including the National Hyperbaric Centre in Aberdeen, oil services firm RMSpumptools and Fisher Offshore in Oldmeldrum, and JFD Global (UK) based at Westhill.
The Cumbria-headquartered company also has a tankships arm and specialist technical division, which works on defence contracts globally.
James Fisher said Mr Lionaird’s appointment came following a rigorous search process.
Chairman Malcolm Paul said: “Eoghan has gained significant business experience in growing decentralised businesses both through organic and acquisitive strategies.
“A strong motivational and results driven leader, Eoghan has a history of creating highly engaged teams, which suits the James Fisher culture, and with excellent international business experience he has the drive to help take the Group to the next level.
“I am very pleased that we have been able to attract someone with his track record and I look forward to working with Eoghan and the Executive Team to continue to deliver the excellent growth potential inherent within our business.”
James Fisher posted pre-tax profits of £55.4m in 2018 and revenues of £561.5m, up 17% and 13% respectively on 2017.