Xtrac, a manufacturer of high-performance transmissions for the motorsports and automotive industries, has announced that Joe Greenwell will be appointed non-executive chairman beginning July 1, 2018.

Greenwell will take over the role from Peter Digby, who becomes company president. Xtrac’s chief executive, Adrian Moore will continue to head up the executive team responsible for day-to-day operations.

Greenwell has most recently served as chief executive of the UK government’s Automotive Investment Organization established in 2013 and is now part of the Department for International Trade. He is also chair of the RAC Foundation and has served as a board member of the UK government-backed High Value Manufacturing catapult since 2012.

Working alongside Digby, the chairman will focus on Xtrac investing in new equipment and additional staff to increase capacity and improve efficiency. This will further strengthen the core motorsports business, with an additional focus on transferring applicable technologies to the wider high-performance automotive sector, according to the company. This latest significant investment follows a buyout of Xtrac by Inflexion Private Equity announced in September 2017.