John Dawson, National Grid’s IR director, has moved on to lead the investor relations team at Rolls-Royce, a few days before the engines manufacturer announced a profit warning.
A seasoned UK-based IR professional, Dawson served as IR director for Cadbury from 2008 to 2010 prior to joining the utilities firm in 2011. He previously worked at former chemicals group ICI as vice president of IR and communications and at Exel as director of corporate affairs. He started his career with former FTSE 100 holding firm TI Group, working in various finance and management positions, including head of IR.
During Dawson’s tenure at National Grid, and following the end of mandatory interim management statements, the firm was one of the first large FTSE constituents to announce it would no longer be producing quarterly results, citing their ‘unnecessary focus on matters of little relevance to a long-term business.’
An engineering and management graduate of Cambridge University, Dawson was deputy chairman of the UK’s IR Society from 2009 to 2011 and chairman until June this year.
