Colleagues have bid a fond farewell to JCB Chief Executive Officer Alan Blake who has retired from the company after almost a quarter of a century of service.


JCB CEO, Alan Blake (Centre) with his wife Diane at his retirement presentation

Alan Blake became JCB CEO on January 1 2010 – only the 5th person to hold the position. Dozens of friends and colleagues gathered at the World HQ in Rocester to say goodbye at a special presentation.

The new Chief Executive Officer, Graeme Macdonald, who took over as CEO on January 1, said: “Alan has contributed a huge amount to the growth and success of JCB over many years. The expansion projects Alan led enabled JCB to double its production from 36,000 to 72,000 machine over a five year period.

“In addition to his vast achievements at JCB, he will also be remembered for his humility and for making time to speak to everyone, no matter what their rank or position and that’s something we are all going to miss.

“On behalf of the 11,000 JCB employees around the world, our dealers and customers, we wish him a very long and happy retirement.”

Alan Blake, who will remain as an Advisor to JCB, said: “Coming to JCB was one of the best decisions of my life; the breadth and width of what you can learn here is enormous and the opportunity to achieve great things is endless.

“I have been fortunate to have a great career here and one that has coincided with the global growth of the company. I have met and worked with some truly brilliant people all around the world and I will never forget my time at JCB.”