Board Appointment

RNS Number : 0155X

WideCells Group PLC

16 February 2017

 

16 February 2017

WideCells Group ('WideCells' or 'the Company')

Former Director of Education at Apple Joins Board to Grow WideAcademy's Global Presence

WideCells Group, the healthcare services company focused on providing stem cell services and ground breaking insurance for stem cell treatment, is delighted to announce the appointment of former Director of Education at Apple, Mr. Alan Greenberg, to the Board as Non-Executive Director and Vice President ('VP') of WideAcademy, WideCells Group's research and development ('R&D') and training division.

Mr Greenberg brings a wealth of experience within the education technology ('edtech') and healthcare start-up space and is exceptionally well-placed to lead the development of WideAcademy and contribute to the expansion of the Company.  On becoming Head of Higher Education of Apple Education, EMEA in early 2005, Mr. Greenberg was responsible for the deployment of a number of flagship projects, including the evolution and project development of Education Podcasting in collaboration with HEC Business School in Paris, and University of Lyon. This in turn led to the development of iTunes University ('iTunes U') throughout EMEA, and the Beyond Campus initiative. The Lighthouse University Programme and the launch of iTunes U in EMEA included collaborations with the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University College London, Royal Academy of Music, Trinity Colleague Dublin, and the Open University, representing some of the highest achieving relationships within iTunes U globally.

His success within this role led to Mr Greenberg's appointment as Director of Education at Apple, based in Asia in 2008.  Based in Beijing, Mr Greenberg managed the roll-out of the podcasting and iTunes U strategies within the Asia Pacific region.  This included the launch of the iPhone Developer University Programme (iDUP), where SDK code was being taught in universities throughout the Asia Pacific region, leading to the first generation of Education Apps for the App Store.  Whilst in China, Mr Greenberg was also invited to lead and project manage a major corporate social responsibility project for Apple Inc, Pearson and Foxconn; the development and launch of 1 to 1 Learning, an educational programme which aimed to ensure students could learn at their own pace.

Alongside these accomplishments, Mr. Greenberg has over seven years' experience in the management and mentoring of early-stage start-ups, including content development, fundraising, business development and the formation of strategic partnerships.  He has also been recognised as a pioneer in his field and cited as one of the 100 edtech leaders shaping the future of learning Hot Topics "The 100 edtech leaders shaping the way we learn" in 2015.

Upon his appointment, Mr. Greenberg will be granted options ('Options') over 540,580 ordinary shares of 0.25 pence each in the capital of the Company.  The Options are exercisable at 14 pence per Ordinary Share, with an expiry date for exercise of 15 February 2027.

WideCells CEO João Andrade said, "We are delighted to welcome Alan to the Board as a Non-Executive Director and look forward to the growth he will drive as VP of WideAcademy.  With an exemplary career that includes leading the strategic direction for Apple Education across Europe and Asia, and growing annual turnover significantly, we believe Alan is exceptionally well placed to help us deliver on our active growth plans.  Attracting the best talent remains critical to the success of WideCells Group and Alan will make an excellent addition to an already robust leadership team.

"As pioneers of innovation in the stem cell industry, we believe it is crucial that we continue to develop cutting-edge programmes that reflect advancements in the market and promote continued market uptake.  Alan has a vision to make WideAcademy thought leaders in stem cell technology and with the analytical mind behind iTunesU at the helm of the division, we are confident that his technical approach and excellent network of contacts will make this a reality, enabling us to influence the next generation of stem cell therapies.

"We remain excited about the next stages of our development as we focus on leveraging our position as the stem cell industry's first end-to-end services provider in order to make treatment of this kind accessible and affordable for families worldwide."

**ENDS**

For further information, please visit the Company's website www.widecellsgroup.com, follow us on Twitter @WideCells_Group or contact:

WideCells Group	CEO - João Andrade	Tel:  [phone]
Vicarage Capital Ltd	Broker - Jeremy Woodgate & Rupert Williams	Tel: [phone]
Shard Capital Partners LLP	Broker - Damon Heath & Erik Woolgar	Tel: [phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd	PR - Elisabeth Cowell & Charlotte Page	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

WideCells Group PLC is building an integrated stem cell services company, focused on making stem cell treatments accessible and affordable. The Directors believe that the use of cord blood stem cells for transplant will drive one of the next important phases in medicine and is therefore developing market leading products in complementary, strategic areas which are designed to take advantage of substantial market opportunities in one of the fastest growing segments in the healthcare industry.  With this in mind, it has created three divisions:

·     CellPlan: the world's first stem cell healthcare insurance plan with financial cover for medical treatment, travel and accommodation expenses and concierge service to manage the treatment process

·     WideCells: the Institute of Stem Cell Technology has been established and is based in the University of Manchester Innovation Center to focus on stem cell research and regenerative medicine. WideCells also has international cryogenics divisions specialising on stem cell storage.

·     WideAcademy: developing an education and training division to promote awareness of the benefits of stem cell storage across the global general practice community.

The Group has built an experienced senior management team that has been integral to the development of its growth and business to date.

Stem Cell Fast Facts:

·     Cord blood (which is taken from the umbilical cord) provides the most effective source of stem cells for families due to it being simple, safe and painless to collect relative to other sources of stem cells such as bone marrow - WideCells is focused on promoting the collection and storage of this.

·     Since 2005, there has been a 300% increase in the number of illnesses that can be treated using stem cells

·     82 illnesses can currently be treated using stem cell procedures

·     Despite initial storage often costing no more than a few £thousand, actual treatment can cost in the £hundreds of thousands

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR).

 

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