Jack Smart is new LV chief
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LEYLAND Vehicles Limited deputy md Jack Smart takes over operational responsibility for the company from August 1. He will be responsible to Michael Edwardes, British Leyland's chairman and chief executive.
Mr Smart takes over from his md Des Pitcher, 49, who leaves Leyland Vehicles to become a consultant with British Leyland.
An official statement from the company this week said that Mr Pitcher had expressed a desire to return to the electronics industry, where he worked before joining British Leyland.
The statement goes on to say that Mr Pitcher has been responsible for a fundamental reorganisation at Leyland Vehicles and for developing a strategic plan for new products and facilities.
Mr Pitcher joined British Leyland Truck & Bus in 1976 but was relatively unknown to the user sector of the industry, writes our industrial correspondent.
He never appeared to be quite at home in the commercial vehicle industry. In February 1977, not long after his appointment, he told CM "I don't think that new management is any road to quick success."
He put his faith on fresh and additional capital investment. "This really sets the formula for success, it creates a whole new ball game, a whole set of new circumstances," he said of the Government's £150m Leyland investment.