HAMISH Grossart, one of the rising stars in Scotland's management scene, has been appointed chairman of Royal Doulton, the Stoke-on-Trent ceramics group which acquired Caithness Glass two years ago.
Grossart, 41, takes up the new appointment on July 1. He succeeds Mark Burrell, who has been non-executive chairman of Royal Doulton for the past five years.
Grossart made his name in the early nineties as a company doctor in Scotland, rescuing several companies connected with the former EFT group.
He is currently chairman of Renfrewshire-based Eclipse Blinds, Scottish Highland Hotels and the Welsh textiles firm Hicking Pentecost. He is also deputy chairman of Cairn Energy and Scottish Radio Holdings, and a non-executive director of Martin Currie Income and Growth Trust.
Grossart walks right into the middle of a crisis at Royal Doulton, which has just withdrawn the expatriate managers from its ceramics factory in strife-torn Indonesia.
Disruption to production there has so far been minimal, but the company said deliveries to overseas customers could be affected if there is further unrest.
The company's UK tableware factories, hit by the strong pound, have meanwhile been working a four-day week, and Royal Doulton warned yesterday that the consequent fall in output will hit first-half profits.
Despite this gloomy news, Royal Doulton shares closed unchanged at 215p.
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