The managing director of a Brighton IT and electronics company has stepped down after just two years.

Amplicon Liveline, which employs 36 people, announced the shock departure of Mike Wood yesterday.

Mr Wood, 46, from Lewes, joined the company in 2001, enabling co-founder and chairman Jim Hicks MBE to take on a non-executive role.

During his time at Amplicon, its turnover grew 12 per cent year on year.

His job was to reorganise the company's structure, enabling staff to concentrate on developing the product range.

Mr Hicks and his wife Heather, the major shareholders, will not be returning to full-time roles in the business and will continue in a non-executive capacity.

The role of chief executive will be temporarily shared by operations director Tony Gorbold and finance director Mark Bushby.

In a statement, Amplicon described Mr Wood's departure as "amicable".

Mr Hicks said: "Over the last two years Mike has successfully implemented the strategy of refocusing the business on its core technical skills of supplying a range of instrumentation and communications products from diverse sources.

"At the same time the company has grown its own brand of UK-made industrial computer systems.

"This strategy, which will continue, has resulted in growth of both sales and profits, despite the general downturn in manufacturing across the UK."

He added: "Recruitment of a new managing director is under way and a further announcement on a new appointment will be made in due course."

Speaking to The Argus shortly before his departure, Mr Wood said he expected to remain at Amplicon for many years.

He said: "I will be here until I retire. We have ambitious plans but we probably won't ever be a £100 million company - not in my lifetime anyway."

He outlined his vision for the company, explaining how he would like to sell his part of the business having been part of the management buy-in team.

He added: "I would like to retire in ten years."

Mr Wood has been interested in electronics since he was a teenager. He became an electronics engineer when he left school, working for Microwave Modules while completing City and Guilds qualifications on day release.

He stayed with the company for 12 years, helping it grow to an operation with a turnover of about £1 million.

He went on to join Leeds-based Farnell Electronic Components, which had a turnover of about £100 million, to work in field sales.

He also worked for Eurodis HB Electronics, BICC's Brand-Rex division and German firm Papst.

Amplicon has not revealed the reason for Mr Wood's departure.

Wednesday October 01, 2003