Pace executive axe falls again The woes of Pace have claimed the job of another senior executive, as the struggling set-top box manufacturer continued its executive team shuffle following a strategic review. Pace, which last month fired Neil Gaydon from the chief executive role after profit warnings in 2011 and a slump in the group's share price, on Friday axed the role of chief operating officer. The move left David McKinney without a position at Yorkshire-based Pace, and he has quit the company and resigned from the board with immediate effect. The operations and procurement functions that previously reported to Mr McKinney will now come under the direct control of Mike Pulli, the group's former US head who took over as chief executive from Mr Gaydon in December. "The new senior structure gives the chief executive direct line of sight to the critical areas of the business," said Allan Leighton, Pace chairman, adding his acknowledgement of "the significant contribution that David has made to Pace over the past six years in building its operational capabilities." The axing of both Mr Gaydon and the chief operating officer role follow a strategic review to reorganise the FTSE 250 company's European business by Mr Leighton, who took over the chairman's role in mid-2011. Pace endured a rocky 2011 - a year that included three profit warnings, severe flooding in Thailand that affected important suppliers, and a drop in its share price. Pace also encountered supply-chain problems following the Japan tsunami, as well as the March discovery by analysts that an order from a large US customer had been delayed until 2012 - a fact that the group neglected to report in its annual results statement released on the same day. The Saltaire-headquartered group in 2010 became the world's biggest maker of television set-top boxes by shipments after it overtook Motorola and France's Technicolor. Further to Pace's senior management reshuffle, Tim O'Loughlin on Friday has been appointed to head the group's US business, filling in the position vacated by Mr Pulli when he moved to become chief executive. "His appointment ensures continuity of leadership and the customer relationships that are critical to our continued growth in this region," Mr Pulli said of Mr O'Loughlin's appointment. Mr O'Loughlin joined Pace in 2001, and will oversee a 1,500-strong team that brings in sales of $1.7bn annually. Shares in Pace, which have fallen 60 per cent over the past year, on Friday rose 1¼p, or 1.7 per cent, to 75p in early London trading.