Professor Ben Morgan has been appointed as the new interim chief executive officer for the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).

Ben, who held the senior role of AMRC research director and chief technology officer, starts in the new post today (Monday, January 20).  It follows the departure of Steve Foxley last month, who has taken up a new role at the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult. Ben will now lead the AMRC Board as it continues to deliver on its strategy, demanding close engagement with its industrial partners, national and regional government, and across the growing AMRC team in South Yorkshire, Wales and Lancashire.  

Professor Koen Lamberts, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, said: ​"Ben has played a significant role in the success of the AMRC over many years, and I am delighted to confirm his appointment as interim CEO. I am looking forward to working with him in the coming months as we continue to ensure our AMRC makes an impact for the region and the UK."  

Ben says it is a privilege to be appointed as interim CEO of the AMRC and is looking forward to continuing to work with Professor Geraint Jewell, vice-president of the Advanced Manufacturing Group at the University of Sheffield.

Ben said: “I am excited and humbled to lead a wonderful organisation for which I have devoted my career. I look forward to working with the AMRC team, the wider University and colleagues across the High Value Manufacturing Catapult to continue to deliver impact to industry across the UK. 

“We are delivering pathfinder technology programmes with UK industry, with many more to come. It's my job now to make sure they positively impact the communities we live in, as we have done for the past 24 years.”

With the government's Industrial Strategy imminent, Prof Morgan said the coming months will be an important moment for the AMRC, the region and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, the national network of research centres of which the AMRC is a key member.

“This is a critical time,” said Ben. “The government's Industrial Strategy places advanced manufacturing at the heart of the UK's economic future.  The role of research centres like the AMRC will be a critical part of how the manufacturing sector can overcome profound technology challenges, be globally competitive and make a difference to our communities.”

Ben began his career at the AMRC as a project engineer in 2009. He went on to become a senior robotics engineer and then automation projects manager before taking on more senior posts as head of the integrated manufacturing group at Factory 2050, where he led a team of more than 70 carrying out transformative research for the UK manufacturing industry, and more recently as research director, a role he’s held for more than five years. In 2022, he became a professor of innovation. 

A mechanical engineer by background, Ben has led the delivery of a number of significant research and innovation programmes for aerospace and defence OEMs, as well as numerous automation and digital projects across the supply chain.