Sheffield Forgemasters has appointed Kelly Jones as a non-executive director on its board. The company announced the appointment on 3 June 2026.
Jones is a turnaround and transformation specialist. She has held financial, operational and director roles at Rolls-Royce in China, the US and Derby, has been chief executive at Rotary Power and Michell Bearings, and was transformation director at the consultancy Kingsgate.
She joined as the company ramped up delivery of a £1.3 billion recapitalisation programme, alongside changes to its processes, culture and plant to support its main role in UK defence manufacturing.
The Ministry of Defence owned business, which is marking 250 years, is building a new 13,000 tonne forging line at its Brightside site and a 30,000 m2 machining hall on the former William Jessop Brightside Steelworks site at Weedon Street.
Transformation at a pivotal time
Chair Sir Tim Fraser said: “Kelly’s background in transformation and restructuring for blue-chip and private enterprises on an international level will be invaluable as we look at amalgamating 250-years of skills and knowledge with state-of-the-art processes and facilities to position the business for future manufacturing.”
Jones said: “I look forward to working with an exceptional leadership team in order to deliver this exciting new future for both the city and for UK manufacturing.”
The board is chaired by Sir Tim Fraser, with Gary Nutter as chief executive and Gareth Barker as chief operating officer.
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