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Management

The Taylor Hobson Management Team

Craig Howarth BSc MBA
Managing Director

Craig Howarth was appointed Managing Director of Taylor Hobson in October 2008. Craig joined us from Hanovia Ltd, a subsidiary of Halma plc, where he was Managing Director. Craig has extensive experience of implementing and delivering growth strategies for technology businesses. He has also held senior positions at Malvern Instruments and ABB Meters. Craig has a BSc in Physics from the University of Liverpool and an MBA from Henley.

Derek Chilton BCom ACMA
Finance Director

Derek Chilton was appointed Finance Director of Taylor Hobson in January 2006, after working at Taylor Hobson for nine years, initially as Consolidation Accountant then as Group Accountant and latterly as Financial Controller. Derek is responsible for Finance and Commercial Sales Administration. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of The Witwatersrand and is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Prior to joining Taylor Hobson, Derek worked at SAPA Ltd and Fisons plc (Pharmaceutical Division) in the UK and at Southern Life in South Africa.

Tim Garner
Operations Director

Tim Garner was appointed Operations Director in 1999 and has over 25 years experience with Taylor Hobson Limited. He started his career as a mechanical design engineer before becoming a senior applications projects engineer. In 1995 he moved into Manufacturing as Assembly Manager. Since becoming Operations Director Tim has overseen the transformation of the department working in an ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 environment. With year on year improvements in on time delivery, stock reduction, supply chain management and lead time reduction we have entered a new era of continuous improvement to keep Taylor Hobson at the forefront of precision Instrument Manufacture.

Neil Curtis
Sales and Marketing Director

Neil Curtis was appointed as Sales Director in April 2011. Prior to this appointment Neil had been the Sales and Marketing Director at our sister company, Solartron Metrology since 2006. Prior to this Neil worked within General Electric’s Sensor Division where he was Global Product Manager for pressure sensing products into the Automotive and Motorsports markets. Neil has extensive experience of implementing and delivering growth in a wide variety of market sectors throughout the world. Neil completed an electrical and electronic engineering apprenticeship with the Royal Navy, specialising in Weapons and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing from Solihul College, Birmingham.

Ian Lee-Bennett FIOD
Business Director - Surtronics

Ian Lee-Bennett was appointed 'Business Director - Surtronics' in January 2014. As Business Director Ian is responsible for all aspects of the Surtronic Business within Taylor Hobson including business strategy, product development, marketing and international sales channel development. Product lines include all hand-held and bench top roughness, roundness and form measuring instruments. Ian Lee-Bennett joined Taylor Hobson in 2001 and has held previous roles in the management team as Business Development Director and Marketing Director.

Bob Bennett
Technical Director

Bob Bennett was appointed Technical Director of Taylor Hobson in November 2007. Bob started his career as a Development Engineer at Perkin Elmer Ltd. before joining Renishaw plc as Design Manager. He has a Physics degree from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh and a PhD from Southampton. As Technical Director Bob is responsible for identifying and driving enabling technologies for present and future products to maintain Taylor Hobson's reputation as a precision metrology innovator. Bob is responsible for research, product development, intellectual property and external collaborations with academic and research organisations.