Coats appoints Interim Head of Finance
- 06 Apr 2016
Coats, the world’s leading industrial thread manufacturer and a major player in the Americas textile crafts market, has appointed Andrew Wright as Interim Head of Finance. Andrew will be responsible for overseeing the activities of Group Finance and FP&A (Financial Planning and Analysis).
Andrew was most recently Director, Group Reporting at Gates Worldwide (formerly Tomkins plc) a UK/US listed FTSE 100 global engineering and manufacturing group. Prior to that he held a series of senior Finance positions within Tomkins plc Group.
Andrew’s appointment follows the departure of Richard Howes, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on Wednesday 6 April. A search has been initiated for the role of CFO and Andrew will remain in post until a suitable successor has been appointed.
Andrew has over 20 years’ experience of technical leadership and managing process excellence in group finance teams through periods of significant corporate activity. His experience spans both UK and US listings as well as private equity owned organisations. He also has extensive cross functional knowledge to translate strategic initiatives into efficient and measurable solutions.
Andrew started his career at Ernst and Young in the audit division where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant before joining Tomkins Group plc. He has detailed knowledge of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), UK GAAP (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and USGAAP (US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and holds a first class honours degree in Mathematics from the University of Warwick.
ENDS
For more information contact:
Kristina Blissett, Head of Communications kristina.blissett@coats.com
T +44 (0)208 210 5084, M +44 (0)7714 539887
Notes to Editors
About Coats
Coats is the world’s leading industrial thread manufacturer and a major player in the Americas textile crafts market. At home in some 60 countries, Coats employs 19,000 people across six continents. Revenues in 2016 were US$1.5bn.
Coats’ pioneering history and innovative culture ensure the company leads the way around the world: providing complementary and value added products and services to the apparel and footwear industries; applying innovative techniques to develop high technology Performance Materials threads and yarns in areas such as automotive, composites and fibre optics; and extending the crafts offer into new markets and online.
Headquartered in the UK, Coats is a FTSE 250 listed company on the London Stock Exchange.
- Each year we make enough thread to go into 8 billion pairs of jeans - that’s one for every person on the planet
- Every month Coats produces enough thread to stretch all the way to the sun
- More than 450 million pairs of shoes are made every year using Coats’ thread
- More than 100 million car airbags are made using Coats’ Performance Materials thread every year
- In 1879 Thomas Edison used Coats’ thread in his experiments to invent the light bulb
- Our Red Heart knitting and crochet yarn brand has been named ‘America’s Most Recommended’ by the Women’s Choice Award for three years running
- Our flame retardant Performance Materials threads can withstand temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius
- Coats is the second largest supplier of zips to global brands