Green Chemicals plc - Appointment of new Chairman
17 Oct 2007
Green Chemicals announces the following changes to the board of directors which will take effect immediately:
Mr Richard Farleigh, non-executive Chairman and a founder-director, retires from the board as does Mr Michael Underwood, also a non-executive founder-director of the company.
Mr David Robert Norwood (39) joins the board as a non-executive director and has been elected its Chairman. Mr Norwood is the founder of IP Group plc, the UK's leading intellectual property commercialisation company, where he currently holds the role of director of special projects. IP Group plc has exclusive long-term partnerships with ten universities in the UK, a portfolio of 60 spin-out companies and is currently valued at approximately £310m.
Prior to establishing IP Group plc, he was Chief Executive Officer of Beeson Gregory Group plc after the investment bank bought IndexIT Partnership, a technology advisory boutique whiche he founded in 1999. Mr Norwood originated IP Group's groundbreaking £20m partnership with the University of Oxford whilst at Beeson Gregory.
A serial entrepreneur, Mr Norwood has also enjoyed a career in finance, having worked for both Duncan Lawrie and Williams de Broe where he raised finance for, and invested in, private and public technology companies. He began his career in the foreign exchange markets as a trader with Bankers Trust after graduating from Keble College, Oxford. He is a former Captain of the English Chess Team and an International Chess Grand Master.
IP Group plc, through its IP Venture Fund & Techtran Group Ltd, holds a substantial interest in the issued share capital of Green Chemicals. Mr Norwood is also a director of numerous other public and private companies*.
Commenting on the changes, Chief Executive Dr Andrew Bayliff, said: "I am delighted to welcome David Norwood to the board of Green Chemicals as its new Chairman. His experience and knowledge of the developing technology sector will be of great value to the company as it moves forward. I would also like to record the board's appreciation of Richard Farleigh's and Michael Underwood's contributions to the formation of the company as Primavera Capital and to taking it public last year, and of their support for the acquisition of Perachem, which was successfully completed at the beginning of 2007. David and I look forward to working together to grow the company and to justifying our former colleagues' and other shareholders' confidence."
STEPHEN M. WINSTON, DIRECTOR AND COMPANY SECRETARY,
LONDON, 17TH OCTOBER 2007
* NONE OF THE COMPANIES OF WHICH DAVID NORWOOD IS OR HAS WITHIN THE PAST FIVE YEARS BEEN A DIRECTOR HAS SUFFERED AN INSOLVENCY EVENT (INCLUDING RECEIVERSHIP, COMPULSORY LIQUIDATION, CREDITORS' VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATION, ADMINISTRATION) OR HAS BEEN THE OBJECT OF, OR AGREED TO, ANY FORM OF COMPANY VOLUNTARY ARRANGEMENT OR ANY COMPOSITION OR ARRANGEMENT WITH ITS CREDITORS GENERALLY OR ANY CLASS THEREOF, WHILST HE HAS BEEN A DIRECTOR OR WITHIN 18 MONTHS OF HIS CEASING TO BE A DIRECTOR.
ENDS
ABOUT THE COMPANY
GREEN CHEMICALS IS ENGAGED IN RESEARCHING AND DEVELOPING CLEANER, "GREENER" AND SAFER CHEMICALS FOR GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL USE. THE COMPANY CURRENTLY HAS A PATENTED CHEMISTRY PLATFORM THAT HAS NUMEROUS BUT DISTINCT INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS - SO FAR IN THE TEXTILE, PAPER, HAIR TREATMENT AND ANTIMICROBIAL MARKETS. ALL APPLICATIONS ARE TARGETED TO BE LESS HARMFUL TO PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT THAN CURRENT MARKET PRODUCTS BUT TO HAVE THE SAME OR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE.
GREEN CHEMICALS AIMS TO BUILD A PORTFOLIO OF CHEMICAL APPLICATIONS WHICH ARE CLEANER, "GREENER" AND SAFER AND FROM WHICH INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT BUSINESSES CAN BE SOLD TO THE INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS INDUSTRY, WITH THE PROCEEDS USED TO DELIVER VALUE TO SHAREHOLDERS AND TO FUND FURTHER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.
ENQUIRIES:
GREEN CHEMICALS PLC; STEPHEN WINSTON: +44 (0) 20 7873 2190
HICHENS, HARRISON & CO. PLC;
GRAHAM ATTHILL-BECK: +971 50 856 9408; PETER
TREVELYAN-CLARK: +44 (0) 20 7 588
5171
TAVISTOCK COMMUNICATIONS; CLEMMIE CARR/SIMON HUDSON: +44 207 920 3150
