Cobham plc appoints new Chief Executive Officer

17 August 2016

Cobham plc appoints new Chief Executive Officer

Cobham plc announces that its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bob Murphy, is to step down from his role and from the Board no later than the end of 2016 to pursue other opportunities. The Board thanks Bob for his leadership during challenging times, including: the development of a clear strategy with a focus on connectivity; driving technology investment resulting in a number of strategic wins for the Group; and enhancing the Company's customer focus and performance to customer expectations. We wish him well in his future endeavours.

Mr Murphy will be succeeded by David Lockwood who will join the Company no later than 1 January 2017. He will also join the Board.

David is currently CEO of Laird PLC, the FTSE 250 technology company providing products and solutions that protect electronics from electromagnetic interference and heat and which enable connectivity in mission-critical wireless applications. During his time at Laird, David has built the company into a focused enterprise connectivity company with leading positions in the connected transport and consumer device markets, delivering sustained organic growth.

Before taking his current role four years ago, David was formerly Vice President Global Defence & Security at BT Global Services. He has experience of international defence operations, gained from his roles at GPT (Marconi), BAE Systems and Thales Corporation. He chaired the Scottish Government's Technology Advisory Group and, in 2005, was the recipient of the Scottish Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Technology. In February 2014, David was appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of Knowledge Transfer Network Ltd.

David has a BA (Hons) in Mathematics from the University of York and is a Chartered Accountant by profession.

Cobham Chairman, John Devaney said, "David has a background in defence and communications technology which are at the heart of Cobham. We look forward to him joining the company and thank Bob for his contribution."

Other than David Lockwood's Executive Director role at Laird Group plc, there are no further disclosures to be made under rule 9.6.13 of the Listing Rules.

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Notes: Mr Lockwood will be paid an annual salary of £690,000 and will participate in the Company's established bonus and long-term incentive schemes. Any outstanding Laird incentive awards forfeited as a consequence of joining Cobham will be replaced with awards on a comparable basis to those forfeit. The value awarded will match those of the forfeit arrangements taking into account the actual performance conditions that transpire and the associated vesting conditions.

This announcement contains inside information.

About Cobham

The most important thing we build is trust.

Cobham is a leading global technology and services innovator, respected for providing solutions to the most challenging problems, from deep space to the depths of the ocean.

We employ around 11,000 people on five continents, and have customers and partners in over 100 countries, with market leading positions in: wireless, audio, video and data communications, including satellite communications; defence electronics; air-to-air refuelling; aviation services; life support and mission equipment.

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