JCB named Graeme Macdonald CEO designate to succeed current CEO Alan Blake who will retire at the end of 2013, the company said. Blake joined JCB in 1989 and became CEO in 2010 after holding a number of senior positions in the company and leading the biggest production expansion in JCB’s history.
Blake presided over the company’s return to sales and production growth against a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty around the world, the company said. Blake will remain as a senior advisor and board member of the company.
Macdonald has held a variety of senior management roles during his 16 years at JCB, most recently as chief operating officer. Previously, Macdonald was managing director of JCB’s backhoe loader business unit, based at the company’s world headquarters in Rocester, U.K., and also served as president of JCB Inc. based at JCB North American headquarters in Savannah, Ga.
