1st Mar 2005 13:58
Reed Elsevier PLC01 March 2005 NEWS RELEASE Issued on behalf of Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV 1 March 2005 Reed Elsevier Announces Retirement of Morris Tabaksblat as Chairman, names Jan Hommen as his successor Reed Elsevier announced today the forthcoming retirement of Morris Tabaksblat(67) as non-executive Chairman of Reed Elsevier. Mr Tabaksblat, who has beenChairman since 1999, is reducing his business commitments for personal reasonsand will step down from his role at the end of the Reed Elsevier PLC and ReedElsevier NV Annual General Meetings in April 2005. Reed Elsevier also announced today that, subject to his appointment to theboards, Jan Hommen will succeed Mr Tabaksblat as non-executive Chairman of bothReed Elsevier PLC, Reed Elsevier NV and Reed Elsevier Group plc. Mr. Hommen ispresently Vice Chairman of the Board of Management and Chief Financial Officerand Executive Vice President of Royal Philips Electronics. He will be standingdown from these positions on May 1, 2005, when he reaches the statutoryretirement age of 62. Mr Hommen will be proposed for appointment as a non-executive director of ReedElsevier PLC and a member of the supervisory board of Reed Elsevier NV at theAnnual General Meetings in April 2005 and will assume the chairmanships on Mr.Tabaksblat's retirement. Commenting on Mr. Tabaksblat's retirement, Sir Crispin Davis, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, said: "I am extremely grateful for the guidance Morris has provided toReed Elsevier and to me personally. He has been an outstanding Chairman for oversix years and has guided the boards and management through a period ofconsiderable change, first in helping to stabilise the business and then leadinga period of strong recovery." Mr Tabaksblat, commenting on Mr Hommen's appointment, said: "Jan Hommen brings awealth of experience to this senior role. Having operated as a senior businessexecutive in international roles for 15 years, he is well suited to be chairmanof Reed Elsevier. I am pleased to hand over to such a capable person." Mr Hommen, who was born in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, in 1943, startedhis career in 1970 at Alcoa where he held positions of increasing seniorityuntil his appointment as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in1991. In 1997, Mr Hommen became Executive Vice President and Chief FinancialOfficer of Royal Philips Electronics. He was later appointed Vice Chairman ofthe Board of Management and tasked with responsibility for the Philips MedicalSystems business. Mr Hommen is currently a member of the supervisory boards of Koninklijke AholdN.V., and of TPG N.V. and is a director of MedQuist Inc, a quoted US subsidiaryof Philips. There are no further matters to be disclosed in accordance with paragraph 16.4of the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority. Notes to Editors Reed Elsevier Group plc is a world leading publisher and information provider.It is owned equally by its two parent companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and ReedElsevier NV. The parent companies are listed on the London, Amsterdam and NewYork Stock Exchanges, under the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RUK and ENL. In 2004, Reed Elsevier made adjusted profitbefore taxation of £1,027 million/€1,510 million on turnover of £4,812 million/€7,074 million. The group employs 35,600 people, including approximately 22,000in North America. Operating in the scientific, legal, educational andbusiness-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high value and flexibleinformation solutions to professional end users, with increasing emphasis oninternet delivery. -Ends- For further information please contactCatherine May: +44 (0)20 7166 5657 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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