Pilks cast-off takes top Morgan job

THE boardroom merry-go-round was in full swing today as a manager dismissed from Pilkington with a £1.8m pay-off was awarded the chief executive's job at Morgan Crucible.

Warren Knowlton, who had his contract at glassmaker Pilkington terminated in May, joins the engineering company in January. He takes over from acting chief executive Nigel Howard, who stepped in when Ian Norris resigned in October because he is suffering from cancer.

Knowlton, a 56-year-old American living in Ohio, will move to the UK. He is expected to be paid more than Norris's £341,000 base pay and will also receive 1.75m share options. Knowlton ran Pilkington's North American operations but was judged surplus to requirements after a reorganisation.

His exit from Pilkington was overshadowed by the departure of chief executive Paolo Scaroni, announced the same day. Chairman Sir Nigel Rudd paid a fulsome tribute to Scaroni but remained silent about Knowlton.

Morgan chairman Bruce Farmer said today: 'Knowlton's enormous experience of managing technology-based manufacturing businesses and his international background will be a great benefit to the group.' A non-executive director at Smith & Nephew, Knowlton has lived and worked in Belgium and Britain.