Coats Regulatory News (COA)

31 October 2016

Coats Group plc

Appointment of new Group Chief Executive

Coats Group plc ('Coats' or the 'Company'), the world's leading industrial thread manufacturer, announces that Rajiv Sharma, currently Executive Director and Global CEO, Industrial, is appointed Group Chief Executive with effect from 1 January 2017.

Current Group Chief Executive, Paul Forman, is to leave the Company on 31 December 2016 by mutual consent and take up the role of Chief Executive at Essentra plc, a FTSE 250 company and a leading global provider of essential components and solutions. Paul became Group Chief Executive of Coats on 31 December 2009.

Rajiv Sharma joined the Company in November 2010 and is responsible for the global Industrial business, which accounted for approximately 80% of Group revenues in 2015. Under his leadership, it has built new commercial and operational capabilities to deliver a strong track record of profitable sales growth. It has been at the forefront of product and service innovation for the global apparel and footwear industries and Rajiv has overseen the expansion of the Speciality business into emerging applications such as fibre optic cables and value added engineered yarns used in composites and conductive products. Rajiv was appointed an Executive Director of the Company in March 2015. Prior to joining Coats he worked at Honeywell, GE and Shell, amongst others. His experience spans multiple disciplines, including M&A, digital and leading large complex businesses, in a range of industries, across five continents.

Commenting on the announcement, Mike Clasper, Chairman, said:

'Paul has been working closely with me and the Board in order to identify the most appropriate time to step down and prepare for a seamless transition. In light of this the Company has been considering both external and internal candidates and identified Rajiv as the best suited individual for the role. He has strong leadership skills; a proven track record of running our core Industrial business and increasing its profitability; and has been fully involved in developing our corporate strategy.

'The Board would like to extend its thanks to Paul for the outstanding contribution that he has made to Coats over the last seven years. Under his stewardship Coats has evolved from being one of many diverse investments of its former holding company, Guinness Peat Group, to re-establishing itself successfully as a standalone listed entity, due in no small part to his trademark energy and dynamism. He has also driven material improvements in financial performance. We wish him every success in the future.' 

The arrangements for Paul's remuneration are in accordance with the Company's approved remuneration policy. He will receive his normal remuneration and benefits to 31 December 2016. He will also be entitled to receive, subject to the original performance measures and targets, a bonus payment for 2016 and will be treated as a 'Good Leaver' for the purposes of all Long Term Incentive (LTI) awards. Existing LTI awards will be reduced pro-rata for time to reflect his last day of employment and will remain subject to the original vesting date and performance conditions. He will not be entitled to any additional severance pay or compensation for loss of office.

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This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation.

About Coats Group plc

Coats is the world's leading industrial thread manufacturer and a major player in the Americas textile crafts market. At home in more than 60 countries, Coats employs over 19,000 people across six continents. Revenues in 2015 were US$1.5bn. Coats' pioneering history and innovative culture ensure the company continues leading the way around the world: providing complementary and value added products and services to the apparel and footwear industries; applying innovative techniques to develop high technology Speciality threads and yarns in areas such as automotive and fibre optics; and extending the crafts offer into new markets and online.

Headquartered in the UK, Coats has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange. To find out more about Coats visit www.coats.com.