Atkins appoints Allan Cook as Chairman

Allan Cook CBE takes has been appointed the new chairman of engineering design Group, Atkins.

Mr Cook was previously chief executive of Cobham PLC, a position from which he retired on 31 December 2009. He is a chartered engineer with more than 30 years' international experience in the automotive, aerospace and defence industries. Prior to Cobham PLC, Mr Cook held positions at GEC-Marconi, BAE Systems and Hughes Electronics. He is chairman of the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing, president of the aerospace and defence industries association of Europe (ASD), a director of the Industry Forum and a committee member of the UK Ministerial Advisory Group for Manufacturing. He was awarded a CBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours list in 2008.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Cook said, “I have known and respected the Group for many years and am delighted to be stepping into the role of chairman. Atkins has a reputation for providing design and engineering excellence for the world’s most technically challenging and time critical infrastructure projects. I look forward to supporting chief executive Keith Clarke and the Board as we steer Atkins into the next decade.”