Charter plc Appointment of Non-Executive Director and Chairman Designate
11/09/2007
The Board of Charter plc announces the appointment of Lars Emilson as Non-executive Chairman from 1 November 2007 in succession to David Gawler, the current Executive Chairman, who will be retiring from the Board on 31 October 2007. Mr Emilson will be joining the Board initially as a Non-executive Director and a member of the Remuneration and Nominations Committees on 14 September 2007.
Lars Emilson, 66, has led a distinguished international business career, having held a number of senior executive positions over many years. He has lived and worked in Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. He joined PLM AB, a Swedish pan-European packaging group in 1970 after graduating in economics from Lund University, Sweden and was appointed Chief Executive of PLM in 1999 shortly before it was acquired by Rexam plc. In 2000 he joined the Board of Rexam with responsibility for the worldwide beverage can business, becoming Chief Executive from 2004 to 2007. He retired from Rexam on 31 January 2007 and has subsequently become a non-executive director of Filtrona plc.
Michael Foster, Chief Executive of Charter plc, said “I am delighted to welcome Lars Emilson to the Board; he brings a great wealth of experience to the Company. His appointment will further strengthen the Board and provide high level support and guidance as we continue to focus on growing and developing our businesses.
On behalf of the Board I would like to thank David Gawler for his invaluable contribution to Charter. Since his appointment as Chairman and Chief Executive in April 2001, he has successfully transformed the Company and its prospects. He has created exceptional shareholder value and has re-established both ESAB and Howden as global leaders in their respective industries.”
David Gawler said "It has been a privilege to lead Charter over the last six and a half years and I am pleased that both ESAB and Howden are now trading strongly. I wish Charter and all its employees every success for the future."
With the exception of the directorships mentioned above, Lars Emilson has not held any other directorships of publicly quoted companies within the last five years. There are no other matters relating to Lars Emilson that need to be disclosed pursuant to paragraph 9.6.13 of the Listing Rules.
Andrew Fenwick; Roberta Governale, Brunswick +44 (0) 20 7404 5959