laird plc announces that david lockwood, who has been chief executive officer of the company since august, 13 2012, will step down as chief executive and director to take up the position of chief executive officer at cobham plc. the resignation will take effect on september 5.

the laird board is pleased to announce that tony quinlan, the current chief financial officer of laird plc, has been appointed to take over from lockwood. 

since his arrival at laird, tony has played a key part in the strategic direction of the group and has demonstrated strong leadership. david and tony are committed to working closely together to bring about the smoothest possible handover.

lockwood commented, "it has been a great honor to lead laird over the last four years.  in that time, the team has effected tremendous strategic and operational change resulting in a company that is highly regarded in its market place. this has only been possible because of the quality of the executive team and the teams managing the business units.”

dr. martin read, chairman of laird plc, commented, "we thank david lockwood for all his achievements at laird.  our business has been transformed over the last few years, with our earnings now diversified across markets and customers and a much strengthened management team and board in place.  we are therefore delighted to be appointing tony quinlan, who joined us last year, as david's successor. he has been very impressive since joining us and we believe he has the leadership skills and track record to take the business forward.  the board is also confident in the strategy of the company and the foundations for the future that have been put in place.  we are excited about the growth and development prospects for laird and look forward to delivering against our plans."

tony quinlan commented, "i'm really excited about taking on the role of ceo at laird.  we have a strong and committed team, a clear strategy and real potential to deliver significant value to our customers and shareholders, in an increasingly connected world."    

richard harris, the current group financial controller, will assume tony's previous responsibilities as leader of the finance function on an interim basis, while laird looks for a permanent successor to the chief financial officer role.