Board Appointment

Ricardo PLC
22 September 2003

22 September 2003



                                  RICARDO PLC

                                  BOARD CHANGE



Ricardo plc, the UK's leading independent automotive engineering consultancy,
announces that its Chairman, Sir Noel Davies, having reached the age of 70, has
decided to retire from the Board at the end of 2003.  He has been Chairman of
the Board since November 1997. He will be succeeded by Marcus Beresford CBE, who
will be appointed to the Board as a non-executive director on 1 October 2003 and
will then assume the role of Chairman of the Board on 1 January 2004, on Sir
Noel's retirement.



Marcus Beresford CBE, M.A.Mech.Sc, FIEE, aged 61, has had a long and
distinguished career in the engineering industry principally with Smiths
Industries, Siemens and GKN.  Having graduated from Cambridge University with a
degree in Mechanical Sciences he then joined Smiths Industries. He joined the
Board of GKN plc in 1992 and was appointed Chief Executive in August 2001, a
position he held until he retired in December 2002. He is a non-executive
director of The Engineering Technology Board and of Spirent plc (formerly
Bowthorpe plc) where he is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member
of the Audit Committee.



During the last five years he has held directorships in three publicly quoted
companies, GKN plc, Aggregate Industries plc and Spirent plc. He has served as a
member of the Advisory Committee of Business and the Environment, as a Council
member of the Open University and as a member of the EU High Level Group on the
Economic and Social Implications of Industrial Change. He was awarded the CBE
for services to the engineering industry worldwide in the Queen's Birthday
honours in 2003.



Commenting, Rodney Westhead, Chief Executive of Ricardo plc, said:



'In advance of his retirement in January, I and the whole Board of Ricardo would
like to take this opportunity to thank Sir Noel for his invaluable contribution
over the past six years to the development and growth of Ricardo. We wish him
well in his retirement.  We are pleased that Marcus Beresford, who brings
extensive engineering sector experience, has agreed to succeed Sir Noel as
Chairman and welcome him to the Board in October.'



There are no details regarding Marcus Beresford that require disclosure under
section 6.F.2(b) to (g) referred to in paragraph 16.4 of the Listing Rules.



Further enquiries:


Ricardo plc
Rodney Westhead, Chief Executive                          (today) 020 7554 1400
Andrew Goodburn, Finance Director                     (thereafter) 01273 455611

Gavin Anderson & Company
Laura Hickman/Charlotte Stone                                     020 7554 1400
Website: www.ricardo.com




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