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Tim Harris retires as Chairman

Tim Harris retired as chairman of the Company, and was succeeded by Charles Rice on 1st August.

Tim’s decade at the helm of the company has been one of phenomenal growth and development. During this time James Fisher has been transformed from a coastal ship owner and operator into a leading provider of specialist services to the marine, oil & gas, and other high assurance industries worldwide. Between 2001 and 2011 revenues soared by over 450 percent to £307 million in the year just ended, with underlying profit in excess of £30 million.

Tim Harris commented:

“I leave the Company in very good hands. Because we have a tried and tested executive management at Board level with Nick Henry as CEO and Stuart Kilpatrick as Group Finance Director and, equally importantly, experienced and entrepreneurial managers leading our divisions. Our management has a track record of success which is increasingly recognized outside the Company.”

One of the key aspects of the success of James Fisher during Tim’s period as Chairman has been the Company’s focus on the world’s fast-developing emerging markets. Two notable examples of its success have been in the development of the company into one of the world’s leading suppliers of load monitoring solutions and marine equipment and services, and the provision of submarine rescue systems and related subsea operations to 14 navies worldwide.

Harris added:

“James Fisher’s great success in recent years has been built on an open and entrepreneurial culture and my retirement will not change this in any way. The Company is today in the best shape that it has been since I became chairman, with great prospects for growth and success. My only regret in retiring is that I am not ten years younger and starting again to help take advantage of the opportunities we have. But I am confident that we have an excellent team in place which will do just that.”

Taking over from Tim Harris as chairman, Charles Rice has already served for some seven years as a non-executive director of James Fisher and Sons plc. Charles Rice is an executive director of German geothermal energy specialist, GEOenergie Bayern GmbH, and also non-executive Chairman of TRF, the holding company of the former government owned Transport Research Laboratory, TRL Ltd. Previously he spent much of his career with P&O Group, serving both as a main board director and Managing Director of the P&O Trans European Division. As such, Charles Rice brings broad-ranging experience as well as continuity to his new role, and is already extremely familiar with the James Fisher and Sons group.