Iraq rebuild man recruited to chair embattled Cobham

The man who helped try to reconstruct the war-torn Iraqi city of Basra has a new challenge on his hands, chairing battered defence group Cobham.

Mike Wareing headed the Basra Development Commission and was the Prime Minister’s envoy to Southern Iraq.

He has been named as the interim chairman after veteran chair John Devaney quit today following months of pressure.

Devaney is due to step down on 31 December.

Wareing will lead the search for his permanent successor and expects to step down himself by 2019 at the latest.

He was previously senior independent director at Cobham and was once chief executive of KPMG.

Devaney’s departure draws a line under a torrid time for the group, which saw a string of profit warnings.

Chief executive Bob Murphy and chief financial officer Simon Nicholls fell on their swords, leaving Devaney vulnerable.