3 Jan 2020 14:00
Appointment of CFO
PureCircle (LSE: PURE), the world's leading producer and innovator of great-tasting stevia, announces the appointment of Mr. Lim Kian Thong, Jimmy ("Jimmy Lim" or "Jimmy") as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") of PureCircle.
Mr. Lim will be based at the Company's offices in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and is expected to join the Board with effect from 1 February 2020, following completion of a handover from James Ritchie, the Interim CFO.
Mr. Lim, aged 58, is a Fellow Chartered Accountant of Singapore and a Fellow CPA of Australia with over 27 years of financial and operational management experience. He has held leadership roles including as CEO and Executive Director of Haitong International Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Haitong International Securities Group Limited, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Mr. Lim began his career with KPMG, Singapore, where he undertook and managed company audits for multi-national corporations and publicly listed companies across a diverse range of industries. He has also held senior roles in stockbroking and investment banking companies in the capital markets and securities broking industries.
Jimmy holds a Bachelor of Accountancy degree from National University of Singapore and an MBA (Banking and Finance) from Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.
John Slosar, Interim CEO at PureCircle, commented:
"Jimmy has significant experience of maintaining tight financial control over the businesses he has previously led, and of driving profitability. He also brings a highly commercial perspective to his activities, having previously been a CEO. His ability to form clear judgements and to achieve results has been well-tested throughout his career and we look forward to benefitting from his experience."
Jimmy will be joining the Disclosure Committee and Treasury Committee of PureCircle.
No other information is required to be disclosed under LR 9.6.13 of the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.
3 January 2020
Enquiries:
James Ritchie, Chief Restructuring Officer and Interim CFO
Phone: +603 2166 2206
Newgate Communications, Media Relations
Elisabeth Cowell
Giles Croot
Email: purecircle@newgatecomms.com
Phone: +44 (0) 20 3757 6880
Notes to Editors
About PureCircle
·; PureCircle is the only company that combines advanced R&D with full vertical integration from farm to high-quality, great-tasting innovative stevia sweeteners.
·; The Company collaborates with farmers who grow the stevia plants and with food and beverage companies which seek to improve their low- and no-calorie formulations using a sweetener from plants.
·; PureCircle will continue to: lead in research, development and innovation; produce a growing supply of multiple varieties of stevia sweeteners with sugar-like taste, using all necessary and appropriate methods of production; and be a resource and innovation partner for food and beverage companies.
·; PureCircle stevia flavor modifiers work in synergy with sweeteners to improve the taste, mouthfeel and calorie profile, and enhance the cost effectiveness, of beverage and food products.
·; Founded in 2002, PureCircle is continually investing in breakthrough research and development and it has been granted over 214 stevia-related patents with more than 300 applied for patents pending.
·; PureCircle has offices around the world with the global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.
·; To meet growing demand for stevia sweeteners, PureCircle is rapidly ramping up its supply capability. It completed expansion of its Malaysian stevia extract facility in March 2017, increasing its capacity to rapidly supply the newer and great-tasting specialty stevia sweeteners and helping provide ever-increasing value to its customers.
·; PureCircle's shares are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
·; For more information, visit: www.purecircle.com
About stevia
·; Given the growing global concerns about obesity and diabetes, beverage and food companies are working responsibly to reduce sugar and calories in their products, responding to both consumers and health and wellness advocates. Sweeteners from the stevia plant offer sugar-like taste and are becoming an increasingly important tool for these companies.
·; Like sugar, stevia sweeteners are from plants. But unlike sugar, they enable low-calorie and zero-calorie formulations of beverages and foods.
·; Stevia leaf extract is a natural-based, zero calorie, high-intensity sweetener, used by global food and beverage companies as a great-tasting zero-calorie alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners.
·; Stevia is a naturally sweet plant native to South America; today, it is grown around the world, notably in Kenya, China and the US.
·; The sweet-tasting parts of the stevia leaf are up to 350 times sweeter than sugar: stevia's high-intensity sweetness means it requires far less water and land than sugar.
·; Research has shown that the molecules of the stevia leaf are present and unchanged in the dried stevia leaf, through the commercial extraction and purification process, and in the final stevia leaf extract product. All major global regulatory organisations, across 65 countries, have approved the use of high-purity stevia leaf extracts in food and beverages.
·; For more information on the science of stevia, please visit https://www.purecirclesteviainstitute.com/