James Selka appointed chief executive of the MTA

Mr Selka has 25 years of manufacturing experience and prior to joining the MTA he was the production and human resources director at a major manufacturer of seals and support systems. He has also spent 13 years as the managing director of a specialist high precision supplier of turnkey instrument sub-systems and originally served a full technical apprenticeship and has a BSc (Hons) from Buckingham University. Highly knowledgeable about global manufacturing, the incoming CEO has a strong interest in supply chains and logistics, as well as corporate finance and improving business performance. The news was announced in a letter to MTA members from the association's president Mark Ridgeway, where he thanked the retiring director general, Graham Dewhurst, for his "stewardship over the MTA for the past seven years". James Selka says he is delighted to be taking up the challenge of leading the MTA into the future and adds: "I'm looking forward to finding out more about the dynamic companies that make up the MTA and delivering a future in which we are even more focused on delivering value for our members and standing up for our sector." The MTA is a trade association for companies working in the engineering-based manufacturing sector. Many of its members are involved in the construction and supply of manufacturing technology; items such as machine tools, cutting tools, metrology (measuring) equipment and CADCAM software. Other members deploy these technologies, and some are involved in providing services to the industry.