C. Mark Ridgway, OBE – AdESAB member profile

Managing Director, Group Rhodes

Profile

Mark Ridgway is Managing Director of Group Rhodes, a Wakefield headquartered group of seven SME engineering companies serving the aerospace, metalforming, precision engineering, environmental, heavy ceramics and oil and gas markets respectively.

Generically the Group designs, develops and exports capital equipment and has expanded through a series of strategic acquisitions to become one of the UK’s leading manufacturers in its field. In 2010 the Company won the Queens Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category for the development of Superplastic Forming and Diffusion Bonding machinery, and in 2012 it achieved the same accolade for International Trade.

Developing his role within AdESAB, Mark has led UKTI missions to both China and India and accepted the role of Sector Champion for the Olympic Games. In 2012 Mark also joined the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) Investment Board which seeks to strengthen UK manufacturing supply chains.

Underlining his long-standing commitment to manufacturing, Mark is the current President of the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), the trade association for companies operating in the UK’s engineering based manufacturing sector, and is a Council member of the Metalforming Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (MMMA).

On a regional level Mark represents manufacturing businesses on the Board of the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and served as a Director of Wakefield First, the Development Agency for the District from 2004 - 2011. He now Chairs the Wakefield Enterprise Partnership and has previously completed a two year term in the Chair of the West Yorkshire branch of the Institute of Clay Technology (now a division of The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining).

Mark was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2011 for Services to Industry.