The long quest by Amstrad Plc, Brentwood, Essex to find some non-executive directors has culminated in the appointment of Jeoff Samson, and the search continues for more names to strengthen the board further. Samson has had a wide experience in the electronics industry, working with Plessey Co Plc, Standard Telephones and Cables Plc and GEC Plc, where he was managing director of GEC Consumer Products Group until 1989. He was managing director of Yale & Valor Plc until 1991 when it was acquired by Williams Holdings Plc. After shareholders voted to reject his 30 pence a share offer to take the company private in December, Alan Sugar has some fence-mending to do: Amstrad insists that the personal communicator to be launched next week is not the kind of blockbuster product that will restore the company’s fortunes on its own, but the unexpected first half profit has caused some to feel that Sugar overdid the gloom.
