Ross returns to his role as chairman of family firm

The rehabilitation into polite City society of Carphone Warehouse joint founder David Ross got underway today as he was reappointed to the chairmanship of Cosalt, the marine safety firm where his father and grandfather were directors before him.

Ross stepped down as chairman of the company which provides services to the marine, industrial and offshore oil and gas markets across the world a year ago to become no more than a non-executive director in the wake of the shares pledging scandal that also saw him step down from directorships at Carphone, Big Yellow and National Express.

He was engulfed in a scandal when it emerged he had pledged shares in his companies to support his investments in the troubled commercial property market.

Revelations about his failure to disclose the pledges led to a host of other senior City figures to go public with similar admissions.

He is unlikely to regain any of those posts, but was able to secure his return to the chairman's position at Cosalt, where his family is the biggest shareholder with 15% of the firm. The Ross family ties go back generations to when Cosalt's chandlery business worked closely with the Ross fishing fleet in Grimsby.

A spokesman said Ross had been reappointed because an investigation into his actions had cleared him of wrongdoing.

In his absence, interim chairman David Hobdey led a £17 million fundraising although sources said Ross, who agreed to take part in the placing and open offer, was instrumental in the negotiations with other investors.