MOD announces appointment of the Chief Executive for Defence Equipment and Support
The MOD is pleased to announce the appointment of Tony Douglas as the Chief Executive of Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S).
Mr Douglas, who is currently Chief Executive Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, was appointed by the Prime Minister, in consultation with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary, under the new arrangements announced by the Civil Service Commission in October last year.
Bernard Gray will continue to lead DE&S in his role of Chief of Defence Materiel until he and Mr Douglas have completed their handover towards the end of 2015.
As well as being responsible for the procurement and maintenance of our Armed Forces’ equipment, Mr Douglas will also lead DE&S through the transformation needed for it to become a world class acquisition organisation. He will be an Accounting Officer accountable to Parliament for DE&S’s annual running costs of around £1.3 billion and will report to the DE&S Board which was established in 2014.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:
I am delighted to welcome Tony Douglas into the role. He brings a wealth of international experience and expertise in project and programme management, organisational leadership and business strategy, which will prove invaluable for the future of DE&S and defence as a whole.
This Government has transformed how we equip our Armed Forces. The key to our success has been matching our equipment programme to the funding available and giving DE&S the capacity, capability and freedom to deliver the equipment they need. I look forward to Tony building on this and creating a world class acquisition organisation.
Commenting on his new role, Tony said:
I am absolutely delighted to have the privilege of serving my country and supporting Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. Delivering their requirements with the utmost service quality and providing best value to the taxpayer is a responsibility that I take with real pride.
Paul Skinner, Chair of the DE&S Board, and a member of the appointment panel, said:
I am delighted that we have been able to attract someone of Tony’s calibre to this vitally important role in the national Defence structure. Together with my Board colleagues I look forward to working with him in building on recent performance improvements under Bernard’s leadership and transforming DE&S into a genuinely world class organisation.