Finance chief to step down at specialist brakes manufacturer Surface Transforms

Isabelle Maddock has announced her retirement from Knowsley-based ceramic brakes maker, Surface Transforms, just 18 months after joining the company.

She has told the board she will leave on June 30, 2025.

She joined the company in September 2023, following her resignation as chief financial officer with Kendal-based paper and packaging business, James Cropper, in June that year. 

Ms Maddock, 57, said: “It has been a privilege to serve as CFO of Surface Transforms, but now is the right time for me to focus on starting a new phase of my life.”

During her 17-year tenure at James Cropper, an advanced materials and paper products manufacturing group, she held senior financial positions before promotion to their board of directors in 2014.

Surface Transforms CEO, Kevin Johnson, said: “We thank Isabelle for her dedicated service and wish her well in her retirement.”

The Surface Transforms board has appointed Steven Harrison as interim chief financial officer, for the non-PLC board, effective from March 17, 2025.

He is a seasoned finance professional with more than 20 years in CFO roles based in the UK and Internationally and has a broad range of business experience including IPOs, M&A, public and private companies as well as situations with challenging business environments.

He joins Surface Transforms from Aurorium, a PE-backed global manufacturer of speciality chemicals where he was interim European CFO, prior to which he was CFO at Saietta Group.

Kevin Johnson added: “We are delighted to welcome Steven and are confident that his experience will enhance the ability of the company to secure a positive future.”

Surface Transforms shares closed last night at 0.27p per share. The stock has traded between a yearly low of 0.15p per share and a high of 9.82p per share.

The company, which makes brakes for high performance cars and aircraft, has suffered a series of blows during the past year caused by production problems.

In February this year shares slumped by more than 30% after a stock market note revealing that operational problems had worsened.

Last September the group revised down its full year forecasts, blaming a failure to hit growth targets.

In November it announced the immediate departure of non-executive chairman, Andrew Kitchingman, having been in the role for barely three months.

In the February stock market notice, Kevin Johnson said: “There remain numerous challenges to grow output and revenue at the pace required.

“The company, alongside customer support, is working through each of these difficulties, not least those posed by the cash constraints which has limited our ability to operate.

“Frustratingly our efforts have not yielded the results we expect of ourselves or at the levels of demand our customers require.”

He added: “We remain optimistic that we can firstly, find a solution to current working capital constraints and thereafter, achieve the necessary operational volumes and targets.”