Leading international design, engineering, and risk management consultancy BMT Ltd has announced today the appointment of David Maclean as the new Managing Director for the defence division of BMT. David Maclean has been with the BMT group of companies since 2004, most recently as Managing Director of BMT Defence Services (Australia) Pty Ltd in Melbourne, where he has been responsible for establishing the new subsidiary since April 2005. Prior to this he was Director of Future Platforms at BMT Defence Services Ltd in Bath.

He will be replaced as Managing Director of BMT Defence Services (Australia) by Nathan Harding. Nathan has worked at BMT Marine Projects Ltd since June 2003, where he is Director of "BADA", a new venture in oil and gas decommissioning liabilities.

The defence division, established in October 2005, brings together the collective expertise of a number of BMT subsidiaries which work in this sector. Its aim is to deliver a broad capability to customers by providing a complete service through a single point of contact located locally to their needs.

David Maclean, Managing Director for the division says: "BMT has a comprehensive defence capability spanning North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. Through the BMT defence division, we are able to deliver high-quality, professional naval design technology services seamlessly to our customers throughout the world."

Peter French, Chief Executive of BMT Ltd, says: "I am delighted to announce David's appointment and I know he will continue to lead the division forward in what is currently a very challenging defence market."

Before joining BMT, David spent 30 years as an engineer officer in the Royal Navy, where he was closely involved in defence acquisition projects as the Warship Project Manager for the Type 23 frigate programme and, latterly, as the Integrated Project Team Leader for the replacement landing platform docks, HM Ships Albion and Bulwark.