Bryan Gray will join the group on 19 June. His role is a variation of that currently held by Rupert Middleton, but Gray will become a member of the group’s executive leadership team rather than being a member of the main board.

Middleton announced he was stepping down in April, and will leave after De La Rue’s AGM on 20 July.

Gray is a high-performance manufacturing and continuous improvement expert and has spent more than 20 years at Johnson Controls International, in a variety of increasingly senior roles. Most recently he was group vice president of its $5.5bn (£4.3bn) turnover EMEA business.

De La Rue chief executive Martin Sutherland said he was looking forward to Gray becoming part of the senior team tasked with delivering De La Rue’s strategic plan: "I am pleased with the appointment of Bryan as chief operating officer. With strong international experience in manufacturing and developing global supply chains, he will strengthen and broaden the strategic and operational capabilities of the business and be a valuable addition to the leadership team.”

Middleton's future plans were unknown at the time of writing.