28th Sep 2007 07:02
AstraZeneca PLC28 September 2007 AstraZeneca Appoints Chief Financial Officer AstraZeneca PLC has today announced the appointment of Simon Lowth as anExecutive Director and Chief Financial Officer with effect from November 5,2007. In this role he will be responsible for Finance and Information Services. Mr Lowth joins AstraZeneca from Scottish Power PLC where he was Finance Directorfollowing two years as Executive Director, Corporate Strategy and Development.Mr Lowth was a key member of the team that drove the strategic transformation ofScottish Power. He played a critical role in the rejection of the E.On bid in2005 and in the negotiation of the successful bid from Iberdrola S.A. inNovember 2006. As Finance Director, he led Scottish Power's group-wideperformance and risk management processes, delivering strong EPS growth throughbusiness development and tight cost control. Mr Lowth left Scottish Power inMay 2007 following completion of the sale to Iberdrola. Mr Lowth's move to Scottish Power in 2003 followed 15 years' experience with theglobal management consultancy, McKinsey & Company, latterly as a senior Directorresponsible for the firm's UK Industrial Practice. At McKinsey, Mr Lowth advisedleading multi-national companies on a wide range of strategic, financial andoperational issues. "Simon brings to AstraZeneca a track record of delivering good financial resultscombined with extensive strategy and business development expertise. I amconfident that he will be a valuable addition to the Senior Executive Team andan able leader of AstraZeneca's strong finance team," said David Brennan, CEO ofAstraZeneca. "Simon has unique insight into the dynamics of companies driving change andre-structuring for future success. He put this experience into practice drivingthe turnaround at Scottish Power, contributing to significant improvements inbusiness and financial performance. AstraZeneca has embarked on its own changejourney including the transformational move into large-scale biologics thisyear, so Simon's background makes him particularly well-suited to this role,"said Louis Schweitzer, Chairman of AstraZeneca. Mr Lowth has an engineering degree from Cambridge University and an MBA fromLondon Business School. No disclosure obligations arise under paragraphs (1) to (6) of Listing Rule9.6.13 of the UK Listing Authority's Listing Rules in respect of the appointmentof Mr Lowth. SIMON LOWTH'S SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE 2003-May 2007 SCOTTISH POWER PLC 2005-2007 Finance Director 2003-2005 Executive Director, Corporate Strategy and Development 1988-2003 MCKINSEY & COMPANY 2000-2003 Director - Head of UK Industrial Practice 1994-2000 Partner 1988-1994 Consultant 1983-1985 OVE ARUP AND PARTNERS Design Engineer September 28, 2007 -Ends- Media Enquiries: Edel McCaffrey, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5034Steve Brown, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5033 Investor Relations: Mina Blair, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5084Jonathan Hunt, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5087 Karl Hard, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5322Jorgen Winroth, Tel: +1 (212) 579 0506Ed Seage, Tel: +1 302 886 4065 Peter Vozzo, (MedImmune) Tel: +1 (301) 398 4358 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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