Elementis appoints Nick Salmon to its Board as Non-Executive Director

-UK – Elementis plc (ELM.L), the FTSE 250 Global Specialty Chemicals Company, today announces the following changes to its Board of Directors:

Board appointments

• Nick Salmon to be appointed a non-executive Director and a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees with effect from 20 October 2014 and Senior Independent Director with effect from 16 December 2014.
• Steve Good to be appointed a non-executive Director and a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees with effect from 20 October 2014.

Board retirements

• Ian Brindle, who is Senior Independent Director and a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees, will be retiring from those roles and as a non-executive Director of the Company with effect from 15 December 2014.
• Kevin Matthews, who is a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees, will be retiring from those roles and as a non-executive Director of the Company with effect from 31 October 2014.

Nick Salmon, 62, has been a non-executive Director of Interserve plc since August 2014. He was a non-executive Director of United Utilities Group plc between April 2005 and July 2014, where he was also the Senior Independent Director between 2007 and 2014. He was Chief Executive of Cookson Group plc from July 2004 to December 2012 when Cookson demerged to create two new listed companies, Vesuvius plc and the specialty chemicals company, Alent plc. He was formerly Executive Vice-President of Alstom S.A. and Chief Executive of Babcock International Group plc. He held other senior management positions that include at GEC and GEC Alsthom in the UK and France and the China Light and Power Company, Hong Kong. Nick holds a BSc. Degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Steve Good, 53, has been a non-executive Director of Zotefoams plc since 1 October 2014. He was Chief Executive of Low & Bonar PLC between September 2009 and September 2014. Prior to that role, he was Managing Director of its Technical Textiles division between 2006 and 2009, Director of New Business between 2005 and 2006, and Managing Director of its Plastics Division between 2004 and 2005. Prior to joining Low & Bonar he spent 10 years with BTP plc (now part of Clariant) in a variety of leadership positions managing international speciality chemicals businesses. He is a chartered accountant.

Commenting on the Board changes Andrew Duff, Chairman of Elementis, said: “On behalf of the Board, I am delighted that Nick and Steve have agreed to join the Elementis Board. We are very pleased to attract two high-calibre and proven individuals to add to the depth and strength of the skill set in our boardroom. Nick is an experienced Senior Independent Director who is well regarded in the City both as a non-executive and as an accomplished executive. His business insights and experience, particularly of growing a mid-cap company with an international manufacturing presence both organically and through acquisitions, will help build on the solid foundations at Elementis as we seek to deliver superior, sustainable returns from our growth strategy.

Steve brings a fresh perspective in terms of his experience of and broad international exposure to specialty chemicals businesses, manufacturing and diverse industrial markets. He has a strong track record of acquiring new businesses, integrating them successfully and driving organic growth through a focus on innovation. His skills and knowledge will be of great benefit as Elementis progresses through the next stage of its development. I welcome both Nick and Steve and look forward to working with them over the coming years to transform Elementis into a larger and more successful global specialty chemicals company.

Turning to our retiring Directors, on behalf of the Board, I would like to thank and express appreciation to Ian Brindle and Kevin Matthews for their commitment and significant contribution to the Elementis growth story over a period of more than 9 years. Ian’s advice and support to me personally has been invaluable and his overall support and counsel to the Board and executive management is much appreciated. His financial acumen, thoughtful engaging manner and sense of humour have all contributed greatly to the performance, cohesion and effectiveness of the Board.Kevin’s background in chemistry, experience of commercialising technology and his interest in operations and manufacturing have enabled him to make a valuable contribution in the Elementis boardroom.

We wish them both well in their future endeavours.”