UK’s Manufacturing Technology Centre appoints former Ford chair as CEO
March 7, 2023
The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), Coventry, UK, has appointed Dr Graham Hoare OBE to succeed Dr Clive Hickman OBE as its chief executive officer. Dr Hickman will retire as CEO at the end of March, becoming chair of the MTC board from April.
Dr Hoare is a former chair of Ford of Britain, having spent two decades with the carmaker in a variety of senior positions. He began his career at Ford as the Director of Powertrain Research and Advanced Engineering at its US headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. He was also Executive Director of European Powertrain Engineering and Director of Global Vehicle Evaluation and, in 2018, was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) for services to the UK motor industry.
Prior to his career at Ford, Dr Hoare was the Chief Engineer for Transmissions and Driveline at BMW and Chief Engineer – Powertrain Engineering at Land Rover. More recently, Dr Hoare briefly acted as interim CEO of Britishvolt, appointed to secure the future of the business, which has recently been acquired by Recharge Industries.
“I am delighted to report that the MTC is now a £120 million, 900 employee business with operations across the UK, and is supporting businesses large and small, regionally, nationally and internationally,” stated Dr Hickman, who has been CEO of the MTC since its beginning. “Since its formation, the MTC has had a major impact, not only on manufacturing industry in the UK but on society as a whole, creating jobs and investment for the West Midlands and across the UK. We now have 800 young people pursuing apprenticeships and have attracted more than £800 million of inward investment onto the site at Ansty, Coventry, and is well advanced in its contribution to the UK’s net-zero target.”
He added, “I know that Graham, with his vast experience in the sector, will propel the organisation to the next phase in our ambitions to become an even more integral and resilient member of the UK manufacturing community. I wish him every success in the role.”
Dr Hoare concluded, “I am joining the MTC at a crucial time as UK manufacturing develops to become more productive and globally competitive. MTC is recognised as a world-class leader in technology and manufacturing innovation and the task of keeping the organisation at the forefront of the increasingly dynamic advances in technology and engineering will be both incredibly challenging and exciting.”
The National Centre for Additive Manufacturing is based at the MTC, part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. The MTC is also home to The European Space Agency (ESA) AM Benchmarking Centre and a founding partner of the ASTM AM Center of Excellence.
