BAE Systems Applied Intelligence managing director Martin Sutherland will take the reins at the £513m-turnover banknote and security printer “no later than 13 October”.

His appointment follows the resignation of Tim Cobbold, who left the business after three years to head up international media and events business UBM in March.

Since Cobbold’s departure, non-executive chairman Philip Rogerson has held the role of executive chairman on an interim basis, while group finance director Colin Child acted as chief operating officer.

Once Sutherland joins the business, Rogerson and Child will return to their previous roles as non-executive chairman and group finance director respectively.

"After an extensive search, the board is delighted to appoint Martin as chief executive. He brings strong commercial skills, and wide experience of growing, technologically demanding businesses supplying governments and financial institutions worldwide. His track record of strategic leadership will also be of considerable benefit,” said Rogerson.

In a statement, De La Rue said Sutherland, in his 18-year career at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence (formerly Detica), had led an international strategic expansion programme through organic growth and M&A, doubling its size to employ 3,000 staff across 26 offices worldwide.

Prior to joining Detica he worked for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and British Telecom.

The PLC’s share price briefly rose to 718p on the news of Sutherland’s appointment, before settling at 715.5p at the time of writing against a closing price of 710.5p.

In June, De La Rue announced it had completed its three-year Improvement Plan, following the publication of its 2013/14 accounts, logging an underlying operating profit of £90.5m, up 43% on 2012/13 and more than double its pre-Improvement Plan profit of £40m.

However, speaking at the time Rogerson said the business was looking for further operation efficiencies and saw significant opportunities in its core markets.