Career engineer is new BGA chief executive

The British Gear Association has appointed Tom Lynch as its new chief executive, to succeed Jim Hewitt who retired earlier this year. Lynch, 52, has spent 36 years in the engineering sector, starting as a 16-year-old apprentice with the Caterpillar Tractor company in Glasgow, and most recently serving as commercial and technical director for the GT Group.

Lynch sees his appointment as an opportunity for him to put something back into the engineering industry, particularly into education and training. "It will certainly be a challenge but also an opportunity to use the skills I have developed in industry to help other companies gain experience in the various aspects of manufacturing," he says.

"Although this is an industry which is not as buoyant as it has been in the past," he adds, "there are nonetheless opportunities". Her says that the BGA hopes to expand its membership.

Lynch is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. His career has included stints at the crane-maker NEI Clarke Chapman and at APV Baker.