Ashley Jon Bell
Bell Equipment has appointed Ashley Jon Bell (41), grandson of company founder Irvine Bell, as new group CEO, effective January 1.
This follows the July resignation of outgoing group CEO, Leon Goosen, who departs the company on December 31 after 16 years of service, of which five and a half were spent at the helm of the capital equipment manufacturer.
Ashley Bell has served as a nonexecutive director on the group board since March 2015, and has also provided input as a member of the board’s risk and sustainability and social, ethics and transformation committees.
A qualified commercial helicopter pilot, Bell holds a degree in business management.
He previously worked for Bell Equipment following his graduation in 2007.
He also co-founded Matriarch Equipment with his brother, Justin Bell, in 2009.
Bell Equipment acquired Matriarch in 2019.
“Ashley joins a sizeable team representing the third generation of the Bell family actively engaged in the business, and it’s heartening to see the next generation stepping up to play an integral role in the future of the company,” says Bell Equipment nonexecutive chairperson Gary Bell.
“I have every confidence that [Ashley] will build on our family legacy with dedication and a passion for the business.”
“I am fortunate to have grown up in an environment where Bell Equipment has been a central theme, and I am both honoured and excited to step up as group CEO,” notes Ashley Bell.