Ferrexpo Regulatory News (FXPO)

3 Dec 2007 07:00

Ferrexpo PLC03 December 2007 3 December 2007 Board Appointments and Management Changes Ferrexpo plc ("Ferrexpo" or "the Company") is pleased to announce theappointment of Christopher Mawe as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective asof 7 January 2008. He will be appointed to the Board of Ferrexpo as an ExecutiveDirector. Dennis McShane, currently Executive Director Finance and Strategy, will assumethe role of Executive Director Business Development, with specificresponsibility for transactions associated with Ferrexpo's growth strategy. Nikolay Goroshko, currently Ferrexpo's acting Chief Financial Officer, will moveto a new role reporting to Chief Projects Officer, Dave Webster, withresponsibility for all financial and commercial aspects of Ferrexpo's portfolioof growth projects. Ferrexpo is also pleased to announce the appointment of Oliver Baring to theBoard of the Company as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director. Onappointment, he will become Chairman of the Nominations Committee and a memberof the Remuneration Committee. Dennis McShane will cease to be a member of theNominations Committee at this time. Mike Oppenheimer, Ferrexpo CEO, said: "I'm extremely pleased that we have secured a CFO of Chris' calibre to join ourexecutive team. As an experienced FTSE 250 Finance Director with relevantindustrial and mining experience, Chris will add strongly to the operationaleffectiveness of the company and the overall development of our business. Hisappointment demonstrates our commitment to the highest standards of governanceand business performance and to the robust execution of our aggressive growthplans. Dennis, the founder member of our executive team, has made a major contributionto the success of Ferrexpo. His new role is vital to our drive to extractmaximum value from our growth portfolio for shareholders, and I am pleased thatwe will continue to benefit from Dennis' experience. Nikolay has done an excellent job as acting CFO and he will now be able todeploy the experience gained in his new leadership role in our growth projects.His move reflects positively on our focus on leadership development andcapability building in our Ukraine assets." Michael Abrahams, Chairman of Ferrexpo, said: "I'm pleased to be able to say that with Oliver's appointment as SeniorIndependent Non-Executive Director, Ferrexpo has delivered on the governanceundertakings given at the time of its listing, and the Company is now fullycompliant with the UK Combined Code on Corporate Governance. Given Oliver'sbackground and his history of involvement with mining companies, he will be avaluable addition to the Board and will work closely with the existing Boardmembers on the strategy of the Company as it continues to pursue its extensivegrowth programme. I am also pleased to welcome Chris Mawe to the Board. His appointment representsa significant expansion of the Company's corporate capabilities, and he will bea valuable addition to the executive leadership of Ferrexpo." Christopher Mawe, FCA (45) qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Coopers andLybrand in 1991, having gained a First Class Honours degree in Engineering. Hehas held senior financial positions for the past 16 years, firstly with IMI plcboth in the UK and Europe, and then with Carclo plc as Finance Director where heoversaw the transition of the group. Most recently, Chris was Finance Directorof UK Coal plc where he played a central role in the transformation anddevelopment of the groups mining and property business. Since joining UK Coalplc in February 2004 he assumed additional responsibilities for the PowerGeneration Business as well as Sales and Marketing. Oliver Baring (63) has been Chairman of Mwana Africa plc since its reversetakeover of African Gold plc in September 2005. Prior to that, he was Chairmanof First Africa Holdings Limited and Director of First Africa UK Limited. Oliverretired in 2001 from UBS Warburg, having led the International Mining Group withresponsibility for Africa and Europe. Previously he had been head of the miningequity sales team and was responsible for its respected research coverage andsales capability. Before its merger with SG Warburg, Oliver was a partner inRowe and Pitman. Oliver also remains Chairman of First Africa Holdings Limited,as well as being a Non-executive Director of the Merrill Lynch World MiningTrust, a Member of the Advisory Council of Sentient Private Equity Fund, andDirector and Non-Executive Chairman of Ridge Mining plc. There are no other matters in connection with the appointment of ChristopherMawe or Oliver Baring to be disclosed under paragraph LR 9.6.13 R of the ListingRules of the UK Listing Authority. For further information, please contact: Ferrexpo: +44 207 389 8304Gavin Mackay Finsbury: +44 207 251 3801Robin WalkerAlex Simmons Notes to Editors: Ferrexpo is a Swiss headquartered resources company with assets in Ukraine,principally involved in the production and export of iron ore pellets, used inproducing steel. Current output is over 9 million tonnes, approximately 85% ofwhich is exported to steelmakers around the world. The Group is currentlyundertaking a significant growth programme and listed on the main market of theLondon Stock Exchange in June 2007 under the ticker FXPO. For furtherinformation please visit www.ferrexpo.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange