Mark Papworth’s tour of duty with Chemring (CHG) has ended abruptly after just 19 months in charge. The critical restructuring and disposal programme that he was parachuted in to oversee is now largely complete, and chairman Peter Hickson has decided a military man is what’s needed now. Half-year results were much as expected, but there's still plenty of recovery work left to do.
“It had become clear over the last 2-3 months that we needed a top management team steeped in the defence industry,” Mr Hickson told us. “It seems a logical change.” Michael Flowers spent 22 years in the Australian Army, and after a stint at BAE Systems (BA.) he ran Chemring’s Australian operation, then the munitions division. And Mr Flowers is also “committed to the current strategy”.