Former Rolls-Royce CEO named chair of climate tech firm
A former chief executive of Rolls-Royce has been named chairman of a UK-based climate technology company.
Warren East, who left the Derby-headquartered manufacturing giant at the end of 2022, has joined the University of Leeds spin-out, C-Capture.
The business is backed by the likes of IP Group, BP Ventures and Drax and is developing a solvent to capture carbon dioxide emissions which can be used across a range of industrial processes.
The appointment is Mr East’s second since leaving Rolls-Royce, having recently joined the board of nuclear fusion power company, Tokamak Energy.
He said: “I am excited to be joining the team at this pivotal point and to work with the management to scale the business.
“C-Capture’s carbon capture technology has all the elements needed to break through the barriers currently preventing widespread adoption of this critical technology for the world to achieve NetZero.”
Mr East’s early career included 11 years at Texas Instruments, before joining ARM in 1994, where he was appointed to the board in 2000 and was CEO from 2001 to 2013. He was named CEO of Rolls-Royce in April 2015.
Tom White, CEO of C-Capture, added: “I am absolutely delighted to announce that Warren will be joining us.
“His wealth of experience in commercialising novel technologies along with his commitment to the energy transition is a true asset to the company at a critical period in our growth.
“His expertise in successfully scaling and transforming businesses will be invaluable as we move forward with the commercialisation of our unique technology and expand our investor base.”
C-Capture was founded in 2009 by Professor Chris Rayner and is based in Leeds.