Board Appointments

RNS Number : 4932J

SKIL Ports & Logistics Limited

12 September 2016

 

12 September 2016

SKIL Ports & Logistics Limited

("SPL" or the "Company")

Board Appointments

SKIL Ports & Logistics (SPL), which is developing a modern port and logistics facility in India, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lord Flight as Non-Executive Director and Jay Mehta as Chief Operating Director of the Company.

This is a transformational period for the business and these appointments bolster the Board, supporting the Company's execution and operational phase.  In addition, the appointments are part of a series of initiatives planned to further enhance the Company's communication with UK shareholders.

Board appointments

Lord Flight, aged 68, joins SPL with significant experience operating both in the City and in India, and has long campaigned for closer commercial relations between Britain and India. He has acted as Chairman of Arden Partners and Joint Chairman of Investec Asset Management, as well as a Director of Panmure Gordon and Co, and joint founder and Managing Director of Guinness Flight Global Asset Management. Lord Flight also enjoyed a successful political career, acting as Conservative MP for Arundel for eight years. During this time, he held positions as Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Shadow Paymaster General and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Jay Mehta, aged 41, is appointed to the Board having been with the Company from inception. Jay is Chief Operating Officer of Karanja Terminals & Logistics Private Limited and SPL. He has 13 years' experience in port operations and management, port marketing, logistics planning and financial services. Jay is an electronic engineering graduate, and holds a Diploma in Port, Shipping and Transport Management from the International Maritime Transport Academy, Rotterdam and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Fordham University, New York.

Details of Lord Flight and Jay Mehta's directorships are set out below.

In addition to these appointments, the Board is pleased to announce that Andrew Henderson has joined SPL as Head of Finance and will report to the Board. Since qualifying as an accountant, Andrew has worked for both Deloitte and Grant Thornton. More recently Andrew has held finance roles for companies in the UK and internationally.  

Commenting on his appointment, Lord Flight said, "I am delighted to be joining SPL. This is an exciting time for the Company as it aims to progress the port to commercial operations. I have been impressed with the work that has been achieved to date and I share in the Company's vision for its future direction as a key player in India's high growth economy."

Managing Director Pavan Bakhshi said, "These appointments will not only bolster the Board at such a pivotal time, but will help us to maintain regular dialogue with our shareholders. Lord Flight's experience, both from a PLC perspective but also his invaluable commercial understanding and relationships in India will be a huge asset to the Company. Jay Mehta's tenure with SPL has been impressive and he is highly regarded, both internally and externally. Having been involved with this project from the outset, Jay's input on the Board will be key. "

Nikhil Gandhi, Chairman said, "We are making good progress on the ground in India. The Company as a whole is adapting to moving away from a concept to an operating reality. With that being said I welcome Lord Flight and Jay Mehta to the Board of Directors. The coming months will be exciting times for the Company as a whole."

Lord Howard Emerson Flight currently holds or has held the following directorships or partnerships in the past five years:

Current	Previous
Investec Asset Management Limited	CorporActive Fund (Cayman)
Flight and Barr Limited (dormant)	Arden Partners plc (Arden Partners EBT Limited)
Gulf Overseas Investment Fund Limited	Loudwater Trust Limited (Guernsey)
The EIS Association Limited
CIM Investment Management Limited
Marechale Capital Ltd
Flight & Partners Ltd
Downing  Four VCT PLC
Metro Bank plc
Aurora Investment Trust plc
Edge Performance VCT
Investment Assset Management Holdings (Proprietary) Limited
R5 FX Ltd
ATI Trading Ltd

Jay Mehta currently holds or has held the following directorships or partnerships in the past five years:

Current	Previous
Karanja Terminal & Logistics Private Limited	Reliance Engineering and Defence Services Ltd.
JPT Share Services Private Limited	Reliance Marine and Offshore Ltd.
Skil Midivisana Engineering Private Limited	Nimbus Solar Pvt. Ltd.
Pipavav Underwater Systems Ltd.	Ambadevi Exploration Pvt. Ltd.
Pipavav Special Projects Ltd.	Reliance Technologies and Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Skil Vision Aerial Solutions Pvt. Ltd.	Reliance Lighter Than Air Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Montana Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.	Karanja Logistics Private Limited
Varahi Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.	Rare Rich Prosper Private Limited
Ambadevi Ventures LLP
Ridgeway Infrastructure Ltd

Save as disclosed above, there are no other matters which are required to be disclosed with regards to the appointment of Lord Howard Flight and Jay Mehta in accordance with Rule 17 and paragraph (g) of Schedule Two of the AIM Rules for Companies.

Enquiries:

SPL	Pavan Bakhshi/Jay Mehta C/O Redleaf Communications [phone]
Cenkos Securities plc         (Nomad and Broker)	Stephen Keys/Camilla Hume [phone]
Redleaf Communications    (Financial PR)	Charlie Geller/Sam Modlin [phone] [e-mail]

 

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