Advanced Appoints New Finance Director

4 Mar 2020

Newcastle-based manufacturer of intelligent fire systems, Advanced, has appointed Ben Moody as its new Finance Director.

Based at Advanced’s headquarters on Balliol Business Park, Ben will be responsible for developing the company’s global financial and IT strategies as it continues to expand in the UK and overseas.

Ben began his career training as an accountant in high-profile investment banks including Schroders and Salomon Smith Barney. He subsequently moved into the manufacturing sector, where he has spent the last 20 years in commercial finance roles for several multinational manufacturers including Herman Miller and De La Rue.

In his new role, Ben will leverage the business’ enterprise resource planning system to bring to the foreground financial insights that will be used to support strategic commercial and operational decisions. He said: “In the short time I’ve been at Advanced, I’ve already witnessed the fantastic reputation the company has in the fire industry. I’m excited to be able to play my part in turning our ambitious growth plans into reality.

“My ethos for working in finance is to be commercially focused and to take a collaborative approach. This way, I believe we are best placed to gather the information we need to help qualify our business decisions and ultimately deliver greater value – as a department, and as a business.”

In 2019, Advanced’s turnover increased by 20 per cent to £25million on the back of particularly strong growth in the UK, Europe, Asia Pacific and Australia.

Advanced’s Managing Director, Pete Browitt, said: “Ben’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for Advanced as we continue to invest in new technology and techniques to help drive business insight. Leveraging financial information through system automation, data gathering and analysis will play an important part in determining how we diversify our product portfolio and accelerate our growth.

“Ben’s manufacturing sector experience and his ability to lead change are attributes we need to drive our business forward and we are delighted to welcome him to the Board.”

Advanced is owned by FTSE 100 company Halma PLC and employs around 180 people making fire protection solutions trusted around the world for their performance, quality and ease of use.

Advanced products protect a wide range of prestigious and high-profile sites in the UK and around the world – including Durham Cathedral, the Tyne Tunnel and London’s Shard as well as Abu Dhabi International Airport and the Hong Kong – Macau – Zhuhai Bridge.

Advanced is a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. Advanced’s reputation for performance, quality and ease of use see its products specified in locations around the world, from single-panel installations to large multi-site networks. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, multiprotocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging and false alarm management solutions.

Halma is a global group of life-saving technology companies with a clear purpose to grow a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day.