Appointment of New CEO and Board Changes

RNS Number : 1306C

Tekmar Group PLC

15 October 2020

 

15 October 2020

The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

TEKMAR GROUP PLC

("Tekmar Group" or the "Group")

APPOINTMENT OF NEW CEO AND ASSOCIATED BOARD CHANGES

Tekmar Group (AIM: TGP), is pleased to announce that Alasdair MacDonald has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.

Alasdair was Chairman of Tekmar Energy for five years, prior to the company's flotation in June 2018, when he became Non-Executive Chairman of the new entity, Tekmar Group plc. He has been leading the Group as Executive Chairman, since James Ritchie, founder and long-term CEO of the business, announced that he was stepping down from the role in August 2020, to pursue other business opportunities.

Alasdair has over 30 years' experience in offshore energy, holding senior executive roles at Wellstream Holdings plc, the FTSE 250 designer and manufacturer of flexible pipeline systems to the oil and gas industry, Seanamic Group, a supplier of integrated systems to the offshore energy, defence, seismic and oceanographic science industries, and Technip UK, the offshore subsea construction services business. An engineer by trade, he graduated with an honours degree in mechanical engineering.

The appointment follows a rigorous recruitment process conducted by an Executive Search firm, involving both internal and external candidates. Final interviews concluded that Alasdair was the strongest candidate for the role with his extensive knowledge of the markets in which the Group operates and his in-depth understanding of the business.  He will immediately transition into the CEO role, minimising any disruption from further leadership changes in the business.

Alasdair will now lead a review of the internal operations and activities of the business with a view to implementing further efficiencies from integration across the Group and will provide an initial update on this process at the end of this month.  The Group's interim results for the six months ending 30 September 2020 are due to be released in early December, when Alasdair will provide more detail.

Following the change in Alasdair's role, Julian Brown who is currently a Non-Executive Director has been elected as Non-Executive Chairman.  Julian has been on the Board of Tekmar Group since the IPO in June 2018 and has extensive experience in renewable energy, also being Vice President and Country Manager of MHI Vestas Offshore Wind and a board director at Renewable UK.

A search for a replacement Non-Executive Director will now commence.

Board Composition

Following these appointments, the Board will comprise:

		Shareholding in the Company
Julian Brown	Non-Executive Chairman	19,230	0.04%
Alasdair (Ally) MacDonald	Chief Executive Officer	434,526	0.85%
Susan (Sue) Hurst	Chief Financial Officer	276,569	0.54%
Christopher (Chris) Gill	Non-Executive Director	19,230	0.04%

Board Committees

Prior to the appointment of an additional Non-Executive Director, the Board committees will comprise:

Audit Committee	Chris Gill, Chairman Julian Brown
Remuneration Committee	Julian Brown, Chairman Chris Gill
Nomination Committee	Julian Brown, Chairman Chris Gill

Julian Brown, Non-Executive Chairman of Tekmar Group, said:

"Our choice of an internal appointment to succeed James facilitates a smooth transition. Alasdair is a successful, experienced and respected colleague, who already knows the business and its people and has a deep knowledge of the Group's markets."

Alasdair MacDonald, Chief Executive Officer, added:

"I am very pleased to have been chosen to lead the business at this exciting time and look forward to taking the business on to the next stage of its development and to building on the success James and the team have achieved.

The prospects for the renewable energy market have never been stronger. The price of electricity from wind power competes with an advantage over electricity from fossil fuels. Tekmar Group is the market leader in cable protection systems and has a globally recognised brand which along with subsequent acquisitions places the group in a strong position for long term sustainable growth.

That said, the Covid-19 pandemic and the potential market disruption from Brexit, mean the short term is not without its challenges. By early December, we will be in a good position to provide a more substantial update on the Group's performance in the year to date and the strategic outlook for the business, in which I remain extremely confident."

Enquiries:

Tekmar Group plc Alasdair MacDonald, CEO Sue Hurst, CFO	[phone]
Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser) Philip Secrett / Jen Clarke	[phone]
Berenberg (Broker) Chris Bowman / Ben Wright / Richard Salmond	[phone]
Belvedere Communications (Financial PR) Cat Valentine Keeley Clarke	[e-mail] [phone] [phone]

About Tekmar Group plc  -  www.tekmargroup.com

Tekmar Group plc's vision is to be the leading provider of technology and services for the global offshore energy markets.  The Group has five primary operating companies; these are Tekmar Energy Limited, Subsea Innovation Limited, AgileTek Engineering Limited, Ryder Geotechnical Limited and Pipeshield International limited.

Tekmar Energy is a global market leader in protection systems for subsea cable, umbilical and flexible pipe. Tekmar Energy has been trusted to protect billions of Euros worth of assets in the offshore wind, oil & gas, wave, tidal and interconnector markets since 1985.

Subsea Innovation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of complex engineered equipment and technology used in the offshore energy market. Its products include large equipment handling systems which operate on the back of pipelay installation vessels; emergency pipeline repair clamps (EPRC) which protect major oil and gas pipelines, and bespoke equipment for use in the construction of offshore energy projects.

AgileTek Engineering is an award-winning subsea engineering consultancy for offshore energy projects. AgileTek helps its clients de-risk projects through advanced computer simulation and analysis.  AgileDat, a division of AgileTek, provides software development, cloud architecture and data analytics services. 

Ryder Geotechnical provides expert geotechnical design and consulting services to the offshore wind and subsea oil and gas sectors. Services include offshore structure foundation design, geohazard assessment and subsea cable routing and burial assessment.

Pipeshield International is a market leading provider of specialised subsea protection solutions in the form of concrete mattresses used for the stabilisation and impact protection of subsea equipment in areas where they cannot be buried and further to limit the development of scour (seabed erosion) particularly local to that of a foundation, pipeline or in marine ports.

Tekmar Energy and Tekmar Group plc is headquartered in Newton Aycliffe in the United Kingdom; AgileTek operates from an office in London; Subsea Innovation has its head office and manufacturing centre in Darlington, United Kingdom. Ryder operates in Newcastle and within AgileTek London, Pipeshield headquarters are in Lowestoft with manufacturing in Montrose and Blyth. Tekmar Group plc also has strategic supply bases and representation across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

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