28th Feb 2005 07:03
Inchcape PLC28 February 2005 28 February 2005 Future changes to the Board of Inchcape Inchcape plc, the international automotive services group, announces thefollowing proposed changes to its Board. Sir John Egan, 65, Chairman, intends to step down from his role and retire fromthe Inchcape Board by the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in May 2006. Sir John hasrecently been appointed Chairman of Severn Trent plc. He will be succeeded by Peter Johnson, Group Chief Executive, who will step downfrom his role and assume the position of Non-executive Chairman. Mr Johnson, 57,has been Group Chief Executive since 1999 and the Board has been aware of hisintention not to continue in a full time role until retirement age. In proposing Peter Johnson's appointment the Board are aware of the provisionsof the Combined Code, in that an explanation should be given when someone whohas previously been chief executive of a company is to be appointed as chairmanof the board. In considering the issue of succession, the Board has recognised the benefit tothe Company and its shareholders of Mr Johnson's ongoing involvement. Mr Johnsonhas deep and broad experience of the automotive industry as a whole and thecontrasting international markets in which Inchcape operates. Since 1999 he has built an excellent management team and has led the developmentof Inchcape, which is now one of the largest independent groups in theinternational automotive services field; a company which has grown from a marketcapitalisation of some £300m in 1999 to over £1.6bn today. Mr Johnson has played a pivotal role in the development and continuity ofInchcape's relationships with its major international manufacturer partners,which in many cases are founded upon associations built up over many years. AsNon-executive Chairman, a key element of his role will be to continue to focuson those relationships at the highest level and aid their transition to hissuccessor. The Board also considered the fact that Peter Johnson's tenure as Group ChiefExecutive will prevent him from meeting the independence criteria of theCombined Code, but the Board is confident that Mr Johnson will continue to showthe strength of character and independent judgment that he exhibited as GroupChief Executive. Accordingly the Directors believe that the proposed appointment of Mr Johnson asChairman is in the best interest of shareholders as a whole, and it is envisagedthat he will serve in that role for an initial period of three years. The process of identifying a Chief Executive successor has commenced and theBoard expects to make an appointment during the course of 2005. The Board has recently announced the appointment of two new Non-Executivedirectors; Will Samuel who joined the Board on 26 January 2005 and DavidScotland who was appointed on 24 February 2005. As previously announced, Simon Robertson will step down as Senior IndependentNon-executive Director and retire from the Board with effect from the AGM on 12 May 2005. He will be succeeded by Will Samuel, who will also assume the rolesof Senior Independent Director and Deputy Chairman. In this capacity Mr Samuel will be responsible for ensuring appropriate balanceand clarity between the roles of Chairman and Group Chief Executive, followingSir John Egan's retirement and Peter Johnson's succession, for the benefit ofthe Company and its shareholders. Mr Samuel has spent his career in investmentbanking and is currently a Vice Chairman of Lazard & Co Ltd. Following these changes, in addition to Peter Johnson as Non-executive Chairman,the Board will include five Non-executive Directors, four of whom areindependent. The Company has consulted a number of its largest institutional shareholders onthe proposed appointment of Peter Johnson, and they are all in general support. Sir John Egan, Chairman, commented: "Peter Johnson has been an exceptional Group Chief Executive throughout the sixyears he has spent in the role. Over that time he has served both shareholdersand our OEM partners outstandingly well, leading the company first through aperiod of significant change and then impressive international growth. "The plans we are announcing today will ensure that the value which has beencreated since 1999 will be protected during the transition to Peter's successor.We are delighted that Peter will continue to play an important part inInchcape's continued success." Notes to editors Inchcape plc has today released its preliminary results for the full year to 31 December 2004. To view this announcement, please visit www.inchcape.com For further information, please contact: Group Communications, Inchcape plc020 7546 0022 Hogarth Partnership Limited (John Olsen/Barnaby Fry)020 7357 9477 Inchcape, an international automotive services group, provides qualityrepresentation for its manufacturer partners, a choice of channels to market andproducts for its retail customers and a range of business services for itscorporate customers. Operations are focused on the UK, Greece, Belgium,Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Inchcape's activities include exclusiveImport, Distribution and Retail, Business Services, automotive E-commerce andFinancial Services. Our key manufacturer partners are Toyota/Lexus, Subaru, BMW,the Premier Automotive Group of Ford, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. For further information, visit us at www.inchcape.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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