Ill health forces Lotus' veteran boss to stand down

Forced from office by a continuing back problem, Mike Kimberley (pictured) who will be 71 next month will be temporarily replaced by an executive committee of company directors supported by Malaysian shareholder, Proton Holdings. Kimberley has been suffering from severe back pain for a number of months and underwent surgery which was only partially successful in late 2008. His doctors have now advised him to retire so as not to jeopardize his long term health. Proton managing director Dato' Syed Zainal said: "It is a great shame that Mike's health has forced his departure earlier than any of us would have liked. He has been a great asset to Lotus over four decades. Since his return in 2006, we have seen a huge turnaround in the fortunes of this great company. He leaves Lotus with our deep gratitude and our very best wishes for his retirement." Under Kimberley's leadership, Lotus produced the award-winning Lotus Evora and has overseen the expansion of Lotus Engineering, the high-technology engineering consultancy businesses. Kimberley said: "Sadly, it is on doctor's orders that I am stepping down but I will leave confident that Lotus is in great shape with a strong management team fully supported by our shareholder in Malaysia. It'll be very hard to leave knowing that there are such exciting times ahead but I'll take with me many very happy memories."