Bart Becht NED Appointment
28 June 2011: 16:00 BST
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc
Bart Becht
Non-Executive Directorship Announcement
Bart Becht, the retiring CEO of Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (www.rb.com) is to
become a non-executive director of ICON Aircraft Inc, the California based
light sport aircraft manufacturer (www.iconaircraft.com), effective September
2011. Becht will also be a key investor in this privately held start-up that is
developing the consumer-focused ICON A5 aircraft.
Becht retires from RB on 1 September and will be succeeded by Rakesh Kapoor. A
RB veteran, Kapoor has a track record in both developing and developed markets
and was most recently responsible for RB's global industry-leading innovation
strategies and category and Powerbrands global marketing.
Becht will remain a part-time advisor to the RB Board for a period of time to
support the leadership transition.
* ENDS -
For further information, please contact:
Reckitt Benckiser +44 (0)1753 217800
Andraea Dawson-Shepherd
SVP, Global Corporate Communication & Affairs
Joanna Speed
Director, Investor Relations
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ICONAircraft +1 424 201 3514
Amy Julian
Marketing Coordinator
amy.julian@iconaircraft.com
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
About Reckitt Benckiser (RB)
www.rb.com
Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is a world leader in household, health and personal
care, with operations in over 60 countries, sales in 200 countries and 2010 net
revenues of £8.5 billion. Listed on the London stock exchange it ranks in the
top 25 (equating roughly to position 175 in the Fortune 500) and since 2000 net
revenues have more than doubled and the market cap more than quadrupled. Today
it is the global No 1 or No 2 in the majority of its fast-growing categories,
driven by an exceptional rate of innovation - typically about a third of net
revenue comes from innovations launched in the prior 3 years. It has a strong
portfolio led by 19 global Powerbrands which are: Finish, Lysol, Dettol,
Vanish, Woolite, Durex, Calgon, Airwick, Harpic, Bang, Mortein, Veet, Nurofen,
Clearasil, Strepsils Gaviscon, Mucinex, Scholl and French's, and in 2010 they
accounted for 69% of net revenue.
RB people are at the heart of the company's success. They have an intense drive
for progress and action and a desire to outperform wherever they focus,
including in CSR where the company has one of the most ambitious corporate
responsibility programmes in the industry through its Carbon 20 initiative. The
company employs about 27,000 people worldwide. For more information visit
RB.COM
About ICONAircraft
www.iconaircraft.com
ICON Aircraft is a consumer sport plane manufacturer founded by Kirk Hawkins
and Steen Strand while at Stanford University shortly after the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) enacted regulation changes in 2004 that created
the new sport flying category. Kirk is an engineer, former U.S. Air Force F-16
fighter pilot, and graduate of Stanford Business School. Steen, a former
investment banker and Harvard graduate, holds a Masters in Engineering from
Stanford in Product Design and is a serial entrepreneur. A privately funded
company, ICON Aircraft's base of operations is in Southern California, which is
a hotbed for automotive design and aerospace engineering.
About FAA Light Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot Classifications
In 2004, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) created a new classification
of easy-to-fly and affordable two-person planes called Light Sport Aircraft
that enable a new classification of Sport Pilots to fly in uncontrolled
airspace during the daytime and in good weather. The Sport Pilot License
focuses on the fundamentals of flying and requires a minimum of 20 hours of
in-flight training, which is half the time and cost of a traditional Private
Pilot License. The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) described the new
rules as "the biggest change in aviation in 50 years."