Pennant International Group plc announced that Mervyn John Skates has been appointed to the newly created executive Board position of Operations Director with effect from 1 January 2020. Mr. Skates is currently the Group's Chief Operating Officer for the UK, Europe and Middle East. In his new role as Operations Director, Mr. Skates will retain those responsibilities and will also assume a broader remit for delivery of key projects, business planning and organisational change.

The appointment is for a fixed term of three years. After 22 years with the Group, latterly as Finance Director, Gary Barnes has confirmed that he will be stepping down from the Board with immediate effect. Mr. Barnes will remain with the business until 31 March 2020 and, during the next month, he will focus on ensuring the Company is well-placed for the 2019 financial year-end reporting.

The Company has engaged an interim finance director (a non-Board appointment) from 1 December 2019 for a period of four months to oversee the production of the 2019 annual report and accounts and ensure successful completion of the related audit. To strengthen the Finance function for the future following Mr. Barnes' departure, the Company has also appointed a new finance executive from a major OEM who will take up his position early in the new year. Prior to joining Pennant in January 2019, Mr. Skates held various senior operational roles within BAE Systems most recently as Operations Director for BAE Systems SDT in Saudi Arabia.