Mantracourt Celebrates Brett James and Announcement of his Retirement
Today marks the end of an era at Mantracourt as we announce the retirement of our long-standing team member, Brett James. After an extraordinary 44 years of dedication, innovation, and leadership, Brett is stepping down from his role—leaving behind a legacy that has shaped not only the company’s product line, but its culture and spirit as well.
Brett joined Mantracourt in 1980 after studying Microprocessor Programming at Exeter College, arriving “like a bat out of hell,” Ron Joyce recalled, on his 50cc Yamaha FS1. Mantracourt were yet to advance to ‘real’ computers with 8” floppy drives but, as the industry advanced, so did Brett. He taught himself high level ‘C’ programming and playing a key role in advancing our digital instrumentation, including the DSC series.
Chairman and founder David Willmington notes, “Brett has contributed hugely to every Mantracourt product currently on sale and those currently being developed”, His influence is deeply woven into our firmware and technical direction. Brett’s attitude has always been, ‘Sure, we can do that!’”
For most of his career, Brett led the engineering team as Engineering Manager—shaping the team and leading product innovation. Under his guidance, the department grew in both capability and size. In 2022, Brett passed the baton to James Slader, who stepped into the role of Engineering Manager
“I’d worked with Brett before and always thought he’d be a great boss. When a role opened at Mantracourt, the chance to work with him was a big reason I applied. He’s a brilliant engineer and a true Mantracourt legend. As I stepped into his role, Brett was incredibly supportive and made the transition seamless.”
As we celebrate this milestone, the entire Mantracourt family extends its heartfelt gratitude to Brett. He is warm, funny, and just a great guy. We can’t imagine Mantracourt without him. While we’ll miss him day-to-day, we’re pleased that Brett will continue to support the business in a freelance capacity—ensuring that his knowledge and humour will always be part of our story.
Thank you, Brett, for everything. Wishing you a very happy and fulfilling retirement.
