Marine services group announces appointment of new CEO

Eoghan O’Lionaird will be appointed to the board of Cumbria marine services group, James Fisher, on September 1.

In an announcement to the stock market this morning, the group confirmed that his appointment as chief executive will take effect on October 1.

It said at that point Nick Henry, who has been chief executive for the past 15 years, will step down from the board.

Mr Henry will, however remain employed by James Fisher until March 31, 2020, to ensure a smooth and effective transition of responsibility.

The group said Eoghan was selected after a rigorous search process led by an executive search firm involving both internal and external candidates.

He has been divisional chief executive and a member of the executive committee at his current employer, Spectris Plc, a FTSE 250 company supplying precision instrumentation and controls.

Prior to joining Spectris, Eoghan held senior management roles at Danaher Corporation and Royal Philips Electronics.

An engineer by background, Eoghan started his career in Japan with technical, marketing and management roles at Mitsui Kinzoku.

James Fisher chairman Malcolm Paul said: “After a thorough search process, I am delighted that Eoghan O’Lionaird has agreed to join James Fisher as its new CEO.

“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.”

He added: “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.”

In May this year the group said it remained positive about its prospects for the current financial year.

In a trading update ahead of its annual general, it said the business was performing in line with expectations.

And it said the first quarter financial performance at its tankships and offshore oil divisions in the first quarter was well ahead of last year.