Jock Fyfe Lennox to step into chairman role at Johnson Service

Johnson Service Group said on Tuesday that chairman Bill Shannon had advised of his intention to retire from the board at the end of its annual general meeting in May.

The AIM-traded firm also announced the appointment of Jock Fyfe Lennox to the board as an independent non-executive director from 5 January, who would also assume the role of chairman-designate with effect from the same date.

It said the intention was that Fyfe Lennox would step up to the role of chairman following the May meeting.

The board said that his “extensive” experience as a non-executive director and his financial background made Fyfe Lennox a “valuable addition”.

He is a Chartered Accountant and, in both his executive career at EY and as a non-executive director, he had worked across a range of industrial and consumer sectors, including support services.

Fyfe Lennox is currently a non-executive director and audit committee chairman at Barratt Developments, and was previously chairman of Enquest and Hill & Smith.

He had also served on the boards of Dixons Carphone, Oxford Instruments and A&J Mucklow Group.

Johnson Service Group said he spent his executive career with EY, becoming a partner in 1988, and held a number of leadership roles across all service lines, including as head of industrial products in the UK and globally.

Since leaving EY in 2009, he had reportedly developed an active board career sitting on and leading boards that had undertaken a range of organic and corporate development and growth strategies.

“I would like to thank Bill for his counsel and unwavering support during his time with JSG, which has supported the team in developing our strategy and growth plans,” said chief executive officer Peter Egan.

“I am delighted to welcome Jock to the JSG Board and I look forward to working with him closely.

“His wealth of financial and commercial experience will broaden the Board's expertise and will serve the group well over the years ahead.”

Johnson Service Group also announced that it would issue a pre-close trading update during the week of 11 January.

At 1041 GMT, shares in Johnson Service Group were down 5.45% at 131.8p.