27 Dec 2019 14:50
Management and Board Committee Changes
PureCircle (LSE: PURE), the world's leading producer and innovator of great-tasting stevia, announces the following changes to its management team and board committees.
Mr. James Ritchie has been appointed Chief Restructuring Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer of PureCircle with immediate effect.
Board committee membership changes
In addition, pursuant to Listing Rule 9.6.11R, PureCircle announces the following changes to the Board Committees with immediate effect:
·; Guy Wollaert has been appointed Chair of the Remuneration Committee and will step down as Chair of Nomination Committee
·; Ali bin Abdul Kadir, Datuk ("Datuk Ali") joins the Audit Committee as Chairman
·; Robert Cheim Dau Meng, Dato', ("Dato' Robert Cheim") joins the Remuneration Committee and Nomination Committee
·; Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah, Tan Sri ("Tan Sri Wan Azmi") (Non-Independent Non-Executive Director) joins the Nomination Committee
·; Rosemarie Andolino joins the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee
·; John Slosar, currently a member of the Nomination Committee, has been appointed as Chair
In addition to these changes, Guy Wollaert has been appointed as Senior Independent Director of the Company. Guy was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the Company on 10 July 2015 and this Senior Independent Director appointment is in addition to his role on the Board Committees.
Independence
UK Corporate Governance Code ("the Code") provides that the Board should identify the directors it considers to be independent, and should state its reasons if it determines that a Director is independent notwithstanding the existence of relationships or circumstances which may appear relevant to its determination, including if the Director has received or receives additional remuneration from the Company, apart from a director's fee.
Rosemarie Andolino was appointed on 1 July 2019 as advisor to the Chief Executive on matters relating to opening up sales to food services customers and received remuneration for her additional role. She continues to provide rigorous, independent challenge to management and in Board meetings. Her advisory role ends effective 31 December 2019. The Board considers her to be independent for the purposes of the Code.
Following review of the membership of PureCircle Board Committees, the membership of all its committees according to its Board Charter are as follows:
Remuneration Committee
Guy Wollaert (Chair)
Rosemarie S. Andolino
Robert Cheim Dau Meng, Dato'
John Slosar
Audit Committee
Ali bin Abdul Kadir, Datuk (Chair)
Ann Marie Scichili
Guy Wollaert
Nomination Committee
John Slosar (Chair)
Rosemarie S. Andolino
Robert Cheim Dau Meng, Dato'
Ann Marie Scichili
Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah, Tan Sri (non-independent director)
Disclosure Committee
John Slosar
James Ritchie
Treasury Committee
CEO
CFO
VP, Corporate Finance
Group Financial Controller
Global Operations Finance Director
Senior Treasury Manager
27 December 2019
Enquiries:
Investors/Analysts
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 130 stevia-related patents with more than 250 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.
·; Stevia has strong environmental benefits when compared to sugar requiring less water, less land area and having a lower carbon footprint.
·; For more information on the science of stevia, please visit https://www.purecirclesteviainstitute.com/