Optare plc
("Optare" or the "Company")
Board Changes
The Company is pleased to announce that Mr Gopal Mahadevan has been appointed to the Board as Non-Executive Director with immediate effect.
Gopal Mahadevan, 47, an Indian citizen, is currently CFO for Ashok Leyland Ltd. Gopal is a Chartered Accountant and a Company Secretary with 25 years' experience in finance function across a variety of industries. He started his career with the TTK Group and then moved to Sanmar Group where he progressed to head Finance for their PVC business. He later joined Sify Limited to head Mergers and Acquisitions, Legal and Nasdaq Compliances, following which he joined Amara Raja Batteries as Group CFO. Prior to his appointment to Ashok Leyland, Gopal was CFO of engineering company Thermax Limited.
Optare also announces that Mr Jorma Halonen has stepped down from the Board. John Fickling, Chairman, commenting said: "We are grateful to Jorma for his contributions to the Company, thank him for all his advice and efforts and wish him well for the future. We are delighted to welcome Gopal to the Board, who brings a wealth of financial experience and will be a great asset to the Company".
Mr Mahadevan is or has been director of the following companies within the previous 5 years:
Automotive Infotronics Ltd
Nissan Ashok Leyland Technologies Ltd
Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles Ltd
Ashley Services Ltd
Ashok Leyland Wind Energy Ltd
Ashok Leyland John Deere Construction Equipment Company Pvt Ltd
Defiance Technologies Ltd
Gulf Ashley Motor Ltd
Lanka Ashok Leyland Ltd
Ashok Leyland (UAE) LLC
Thermax Engineering Construction Co Ltd *
Thermax Instrumentation Ltd *
Thermax Onsite Energy Solutions Ltd
Thermax Sustainable Energy Solutions Ltd *
Thermax Babcock & Wilcox Energy Solutions Pvt Ltd *
Thermax Europe Limited
Danstoker (UK) Limited*
Adyar Property holding Company Private Ltd
*Past Directorships
Save as disclosed above there are no additional disclosures to be made in accordance with paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM rules.
For further information please contact:
Optare plc Tel: +44 (0) 8434 873 200
Enrico Vassallo - CEO
Cenkos Securities plc Tel: +44 (0) 20 7397 8900
Stephen Keys/Camilla Hume
Optare
Optare is a leading British manufacturer of urban buses with a modern assembly facility near Leeds, Yorkshire, employing more than 400 people. Its award-winning range of buses feature an integral design and efficient diesel engines, plus an industry-leading choice of electric and hybrid units utilising the latest low carbon technology.
The Optare Group PLC part of Ashok Leyland, one of the top five global bus producers, and part of the Hinduja Group.