Gray becomes new defence procurement chief

Gray is to replace Sir Kevin O'Donoghue and will take responsibility for delivering all aspects of the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) plan. He will be in charge of MoD assets worth £104bn and an annual operating budget of £13bn. His background includes non-executive roles as a director of Cable & Wireless and the UK broadcaster Five. Gray also worked as a journalist for the Financial Times for nearly a decade earlier in his career. In 2009 he was commissioned to carry out an independent review of the MoD's procurement progress and to suggest further recommendations on how the department could improve the purchasing and delivering of equipment. It was considered controversial by some as it suggested the DE&S should outsource its operations under a "government owned, contractor operated" model to a programme management organisation with a civil engineering background. The two main themes that were accepted by the MoD were a need to bring equipment plans into line with the resources likely to be available, and a need to improve equipment programme planning, management and delivery. Defence secretary Liam Fox described Gray as being the best man for a "hugely demanding post" at a "uniquely challenging time". "He brings to it deep knowledge and experience of Defence generally, defence procurement specifically, of the Whitehall machine and the commercial world," he said. "Unlike many others who talk about the problems facing defence procurement, he talks about solutions. He will provide clear direction and leadership to DE&S during the very challenging time ahead and will be a huge asset to the defence board and the civilian leadership team in defence." The role of chief of defence material was created in 2007, merging the roles of chief of defence procurement and chief of defence logistics into a single post responsible for leading DE&S.