The Engineering Council is pleased to announce that with effect from today Rear Admiral Nigel Guild CB PhD DEng CEng FREng has been elected as the new Chairman of its Board of Trustees.

He succeeds Professor Kel Fidler CEng FREng HonFIET, who has completed two very successful terms as Chairman, having served on the Board since the creation of the new Engineering Council in 2002.  Throughout this period, Prof Fidler has led the development and implementation of the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC), which has gained the respect and admiration of many of the organisation’s international partners.

Rear Admiral Guild says: “I am looking forward to the challenges of the next few years, as we continue the good work of the Engineering Council in ensuring that the competence and commitment of the UK’s professionally qualified engineers is recognised as the benchmark to aspire to.”

Well qualified to take the helm of the Engineering Council as it develops its strategic objectives for 2012-2015, Rear Admiral Guild has been an active member of the Engineering Council Board since 2005, and Chairman of the organisation’s Finance, Audit and Remuneration Panel.

Following a career in the Royal Navy spanning more than 40 years, Rear Admiral Guild moved on to new opportunities two years ago.  His naval career began in 1966 and he read engineering at Trinity College, Cambridge.  A Weapon Engineer Officer, he served at sea in HM Ships HERMES, EURYALUS and HMS BEAVER and on the staff of Flag Officer Sea Training. His shore appointments were mainly in the Procurement Executive, culminating in service on the Admiralty Board as Controller of the Navy.  Rear Admiral Guild’s final appointment was as Senior Responsible Owner for Carrier Strike, in the Ministry of Defence.  At the same time, he also held the post of Chief Naval Engineer Officer.

A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) and City & Guilds Institute, Rear Admiral Guild is the immediate Past-President of IMarEST.  Since October 2009 he has also been Chairman of the Board of Atlas Elektronik UK Ltd.