AugustaWestland external affairs chief promoted to global role

McFall is moving his family to Milan, where the company is headquarted, having been given the new role of global head of public affairs and communications campaigns.

It is not clear at this stage whether AgustaWestland, which is part of Italian engineering company Finmeccanica, is recruiting a replacement.

AugustaWestland is the Ministry of Defence’s number one helicopter supplier. It is seeking to win the Search and Rescue contract with the Civil 189 in a bid to accelerate the diversification of its business.

Its aim is also to win some key export programmes with support from the government.

McFall was in the role for three and a half years following earlier jobs as an associate director at Bell Pottinger, a researcher for John Grogan MP and a qualified electrician.

He said: ‘The global helicopter market is extremely competitive, with only a few companies that have the ability to design, develop, build, support and modify helicopters. We have that in the UK.

‘The global drive for exports is pushing the sector through enormous change and that presents both great opportunities and significant challenges for everyone in the industry. My objective is to help rise and deliver on some of these challenges.’