Alan Williams was elected as the new Chair of the Centre in October 2023. Alan is the Chief Executive of the Camira Group. He holds a Masters degree in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering from Newcastle University and has worked with global electronic company Philips, and with Owens Corning where he became Operations Leader before joining Camira’s predecessor Interface Fabrics in 2004. Alan joined the board in 2005 and was part of the team which completed the management buyout from Interface to set up Camira in 2006.

Alan has established Camira as a center of manufacturing excellence both in Yorkshire and in their operations in Lithuania.

At the Centre’s Awards ceremony in February 2024 Alan said:

‘Growing the skills of our current and future workforce has never been more critical, and that’s why the Centre of Excellence is so important for maintaining our skills supply line. Not just through the apprenticeship programmes which remain hugely important but also by working with our many partners to develop and deliver new skills courses that respond quickly to our changing needs’.