BMT Group, the leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has announced the appointment of Sir John Hood KNZM as Chairman of BMT Group Ltd with effect from 1 October 2015, following the retirement of Dr Neil Cross at the end of BMT’s financial year on 30 September.

Sir John Hood is a non-executive Director of BG Group plc and WPP plc, Chairman of Urenco Ltd (from which he will retire later this year), Matakina Ltd, and Study Group Ltd; President and Chief Executive Officer of the Robertson Foundation; and Chair of the Rhodes Trust and Teach For All.  For five years Sir John served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and, before that, as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland after a successful career at Fletcher Challenge, New Zealand’s largest industrial conglomerate.

With a Bachelor of Engineering and a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Auckland, Sir John was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford where he read for an MPhil in Management Studies.  He was appointed a Knight Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2014.

Peter French, Chief Executive, BMT Group comments: “We are delighted that Sir John is joining BMT as Chairman in the new financial year.  The group will benefit significantly from his wealth of experience of international business and analytical rigour.  I am sure that he will bring an original perspective to our business and help us to remain at the forefront of innovation and design in maritime engineering.

“I shall, of course, be sad to see the retirement from BMT of our current Chairman, Dr Neil Cross.  Neil has been with BMT for a total of 18 years and has for the last nine years been our Chairman, in which time the Board has implemented strategies that have seen us weather challenging times, nearly double our turnover to £165m and make distributions of £44m to our staff.  The Board and the staff of the whole group wish Neil a very happy and long retirement.”