Manufacturer accelerates arrival of chief executive

Autins Group has been able to bring forward the arrival of its incoming chief executive by more than three months.

Last month the manufacturer appointed Gareth Kaminski-Cook from international performance materials group Low & Bonar and it has now said he will join on October 1.

Autins, which supplies acoustic and thermal insulation solutions for the automotive sector, has struggled since it went public in August 2016 and its shares are trading more than 80% below their peak.

Adam Attwood, chairman of Autins Group, said: “We are delighted that we have been able to bring forward Gareth’s start date to the beginning of our financial year. We look forward to the positive impact that he will bring to the Group.”

Long-standing chief executive Jim Griffin left in February 2017 when the company issued a profits warning and his replacement, Michael Jennings, resigned in March after just a year in post. Jennings will leave Autins at the end of August, with non-executive director Ian Griffiths stepping in as interim chief executive until Kaminski-Cook’s arrival.

Kaminski-Cook is a University of Birmingham graduate with 25 years’ experience in industrial businesses.