Avon Rubber board chair retires, new successor announced

Melksham, UK – Avon Rubber board chain David Evans is retiring from his position in early December to be succeeded by Bruce Thompson who was appointed as non-executive director on the board in February.

Evans served on the Avon board since 2007 and has led the board since 2012.

Prior to joining the Avon board earlier this year, Thompson served as the CEO of Diploma PLC, the FTSE 250 specialised technical products and services business, for over 20 years. 

"Avon Rubber has a clear strategy and has made significant progress with the recent acquisitions transforming the group into a leading provider of life critical personal protection systems,” said Thomson in a trading update 20 Nov. 

As part of his mandate, Thompson said, he looked forward to leading the board through “the next phase of growth."
 
In addition to the appointment of a new chair, Avon Rubber also announced two further board changes.

Non-executive director Pim Vervaat has been appointed as the CEO of Austrian packaging company Constatia Flexibles and will stand down from the board after the group’s annual general meeting on 29 Jan 2021. Current board member Bindi Foyle will replace him as chair of the audit committee.

In addition, Thales UK chief executive Victor Chavez CBE will join the board as an independent non-executive director, effective 1 Dec.  

Under Chavez’s leadership, Avon said, Thales UK  grew its position as a “prime contractor and systems integrator to the UK MoD and other international military customers.”

"We are delighted to welcome a non-executive director of Victor's standing in the defence sector to the Board,” said Thompson. 

The appointment, he said, “significantly strengthens” the board's defence industry experience in the absence of David Evans.