Directorate Change

RNS Number : 9719G

IP Group PLC

10 March 2015

 



FOR RELEASE ON

10 MARCH 2015

IP Group

("IP Group" or "the Group" or "the Company")

Appointment of Chairman

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO), the developer of intellectual property-based businesses, today announces that Mike Humphrey will become the Group's Non-executive Chairman in March 2015.

Further to the announcement on 29 October 2014 that Dr Bruce Smith CBE would be stepping down as Non-executive Chairman and Director of the Group, the Nomination Committee carried out a rigorous assessment of all available candidates.  Following this assessment it concluded that Mr Humphrey met the criteria required for the role, given his experience internationally and with institutional investors, and in leading and growing Croda International plc, a major corporation built on innovation, into the FTSE100. Mr Humphrey will assume office with effect from the conclusion of the Group's Board meeting to be held on 24 March 2015.

Mr Humphrey joined the IP Group Board in 2011, was appointed Senior Independent Director in that same year and became Chairman of the Remuneration Committee in 2014. Doug Liversidge, who joined the Board in 2014, will assume the role of Senior Independent Director with effect from 24 March 2015 and Jonathan Brooks, a member of the Board since 2011, will become Chairman of the Remuneration Committee, with effect from that same date. The Nomination Committee is actively searching for an additional Non-executive Director for the Board and will make an announcement once this process has been completed.

Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive of IP Group, said: "I am delighted that Mike has agreed to take over as Chairman. He has made a significant contribution to the Board since he joined over three years ago and I look forward to continuing to work with him as the Group seeks to achieve its objectives."

Mike Humphrey, Senior Independent Director, said: "I am honoured to have been offered the role of Chairman and I am excited at the prospect of building on Bruce's success and steering the Group through the next phase of its development." 

For more information, please contact:

IP Group plc	www.ipgroupplc.com
Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer Vicki Bradley, Communications	[phone] [phone]
FTI Consulting
James Melville-Ross/Simon Conway/ Victoria Foster Mitchell	[phone]

Notes for editors

Mike Humphrey

Mike Humphrey is the former CEO of Croda International plc. He was appointed to the Board of Croda in 1995 and became Group Chief Executive at the beginning of 1999. He joined Croda in 1969 as a management trainee and was appointed Managing Director of Croda Singapore in 1988, Croda Application Chemicals in 1990 and Croda Chemicals in 1991. He retired from Croda at the end of 2011.

About IP Group

IP Group ("IP Group" or the "Group") is a leading UK intellectual property commercialisation company, developing technology innovations primarily from its research intensive partner universities. The Group offers more than traditional venture capital, providing its companies with access to business building expertise, networks, recruitment and business support.

IP Group's portfolio comprises holdings in around 90 early-stage to mature businesses across the Healthcare, Biotech, Cleantech and Technology sectors. These businesses include Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the DNA sequencing development company, Revolymer, best known for its removable chewing gum, and Xeros, which has received many accolades for its revolutionary clothes washing techniques with a much reduced requirement for water.

For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com.

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