James Fisher & Sons plc announced that Charles Rice has informed the Board of his intention to retire as Chairman and a Director of the company at the AGM on 3 May 2018. It is intended that Malcolm Paul, presently the company's Senior Independent Director, will become Chairman at the conclusion of the AGM. Malcolm Paul is a chartered accountant and was the Finance Director of WSP Group plc between 1987 and 2009. Prior to that, Malcolm was a principal at the corporate finance boutique Financial Decisions and a partner at Longcrofts, a chartered accountancy firm. He joined the James Fisher board in 2011 and is the Senior Independent Director and Chairman of the audit and remuneration committees. Malcolm is also currently Chairman of Anthesis Consulting Group, an international environmental and sustainability company. James Fisher also announced that Justin Atkinson will join the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director on 1 February 2018 with the intention of succeeding Malcolm Paul as Chair of the Audit Committee in May 2018. Justin was Chief Executive and a Director of Keller Group plc from 2004 to 2015, having formerly served as both Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director, and has significant operational and financial experience both in the UK and internationally. A chartered accountant, Justin is currently Senior Independent Director of Kier Group plc, Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at Forterra plc and a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Sirius Real Estate Ltd. He is also a member of the Audit Committee of the National Trust.