Aston Martin Lagonda Regulatory News (AML)

28 January 2021

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc

Directorate Change

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc (the "Company") announces the following changes to the Board and its Committees to support the Company in its future ambitions.

Anne Stevens, Robin Freestone, Richard Parry-Jones and Antony Sheriff are appointed to the Board as independent non-executive directors and Stephan Unger is appointed as the representative non-executive director of Mercedes-Benz AG, each appointment is effective 1 February 2021. Peter Espenhahn (Audit and Risk Committee Chair) and Lord Matthew Carrington (Remuneration Committee Chair) will support the Company through the publication of the 2020 financial results and will step down from the Board at the close of the AGM. Bill Tame will step down from the Board immediately.

The following changes will be made to Board Committees:

· All four new independent directors will join the Remuneration, Audit and Risk and Nomination Committees effective 1 February.

· Anne Stevens will take up the role of Remuneration Committee Chair following publication of the 2020 financial results and becomes the Workforce independent non-executive director effective 1 February.

· Robin Freestone will take up the role of Audit and Risk Committee Chair following the publication of the 2020 financial results. 

· Antony Sheriff will become the Senior Independent Director effective 1 February.

· Stephan Unger will join the Nomination Committee and become an observer on the Remuneration and Audit and Risk Committees effective 1 February.

· Amr Ali Abdallah AbouelSeoud, the current representative non-executive director of the Adeem/Primewagon group, will join the Nomination Committee and become an observer on the Audit and Risk Committee effective 1 February.

Following these appointments, the Board committees will be compliant with the UK Corporate Governance Code (Code). The Board will continue to focus on its composition and is committed to achieving full Code compliance and increased diversity as a matter of priority.

Executive Chairman, Lawrence Stroll said: 

"I am very pleased to be announcing these appointments today. Anne, Robin, Richard, Antony and Stephan are strong additions to the Board and their extensive expertise and experience of automotive and luxury will be of great value to us. This is a very important time for the Company as we start to execute our plans to enable Aston Martin to become one of the preeminent luxury car brands in the world, delivering value for our customers, staff, partners and shareholders alike. I would like to thank Peter, Matthew and Bill for their significant contributions and support to the Board."

The Company confirms that there is no further information to be disclosed pursuant to paragraph LR 9.6.13R of the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority with regard to any of these appointments.

FY 2020 results are planned to be announced on 25 February 2021.

Biographies:

Anne Stevens is an engineer who started her career in the chemical industry before moving to automotive with Ford (1990-2006) where she led a number of core manufacturing operations before taking broader regional responsibilities. She joined the Board of GKN in 2016 and was briefly interim CEO (2018) during the hostile takeover by Melrose plc. Anne has held a number of non-executive positions with Lockheed Martin (2002-2017) and with Anglo American, since 2012, where she currently chairs the Remuneration Committee.

Robin Freestone has held a number of executive finance roles in the industrial sector with ICI (1985-1995), Henkel Ltd (CFO 1995-2000) and Amersham International (2000-2004) as well as in publishing with Pearson (2004-2015), nine-years of which were as CFO. He has wide non-executive director experience encompassing medical devices, on-line services, and luxury fashion. He was Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Cable & Wireless (2015-2016). He joined the Board of Smith and Nephew plc in 2015, has been Chair of the Audit Committee and is currently their Senior Independent Director. Having previously been Chair of the Audit Committee of MoneySupermarket.com (2015-2019), he is currently Chair of the Board and their Nomination Committee. He joined the Board of Capri Holdings Ltd (previously Michael Kors Holdings Ltd) in 2016 and is currently their Audit Committee Chair. A qualified Chartered Accountant, Robin chairs the ICAEW's Corporate Governance Committee and was previously Chair of 'The 100 Group' which represents the CFO's of the FTSE 100.

Richard Parry-Jones has had a long and successful career at Ford Motor Co. (1969-2007) latterly responsible for product development worldwide, as well as design, research and vehicle technology. He oversaw a technical staff of 30 000 engineers, scientists and designers across the US, Europe, APAC and LATAM. Since 2008 he has held a number of non-executive positions, including chairing both Network Rail (2012-2015) and Yorkshire Water (2015-2016). He was a member of the Board of GKN (2008-2018) and Senior Independent Director for six years. Richard is currently the Chairman of Marshall Motor Holdings plc.

Antony Sheriff is an experienced automotive and luxury sector executive with a strong leadership track record at both Princess Yachts Limited (currently Executive Chairman and CEO) and McLaren (CEO/MD 2003-2013) where he created and built the sports car business. He previously held a number of executive positions at Fiat Auto S.p.A. (1995-2003) and started his career at McKinsey & Company in 1988. His executive experience and skillset spans Product Development, Marketing, and Business Strategy. Since 2014 Antony has also held a number of non-executive and advisory positions with innovative start-ups in the automotive and aerospace businesses and is currently on the Boards of Rivian Automotive Inc. and the renowned Italian design house, Pininfarina S.p.A., as well as serving as a Board Advisor to Rimac Automobili and Aeromobil.

Stephan Unger has held various positions in finance and control in his career to date. After starting his professional career with the Daimler Group in finance in 1993, from 2001-2004 he led the Controlling & Accounting division at Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in Japan (part of Daimler at that time). In 2004, he was appointed Commercial Director of Mercedes-AMG GmbH and in 2008, he was appointed Director of Corporate Controlling of the Daimler Group. Since 2012, Stephan has been Member of the Board of Management, responsible for Finance & Controlling and Risk Management of Daimler Mobility. In this role, he is also promoting the company's transformation into an integrated, digitized financial services provider through strategic partnerships and investments in start-ups.  

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