Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer

The Board of Ansell is delighted to announce that, having led the Ansell group as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer since 2010, Magnus Nicolin has agreed to continue to lead the company until the end of the 2021 financial year, with his intention to retire at that time.

This is an important agreement for the company as we continue to implement our strategic growth plans. Additionally, we will now be re-shaping and re-focusing the company following the sale of the Sexual Wellness business.

Ansell is well progressed with its management succession planning. The Board has identified potential candidates to make up the next generation senior team and our next CEO, reaffirming our strong commitment to developing internal talent. The internal CEO candidates have demonstrated strong leadership potential in their current roles. The Board is now looking to further evaluate their leadership skills in the Group context and to provide the candidates with additional assignments that continue to test and build their capacity and capability – and to give them further exposure to the Board, investors and capital markets.

Both the Board and Mr Nicolin are committed to seeing a smooth transition of leadership responsibilities during this time while the Company continues to grow shareholder value.

Board succession and renewal

Ansell is a complex business operating in a number of markets in many countries. The overall size of the Board of Ansell is quite small compared to peers, which the Board continues to think is right when considering cost and agility. In this light, the Board has discussed and approved an orderly succession plan that it believes facilitates the best injection of new skills and new thinking while retaining a fair degree of corporate knowledge and memory.

As announced on 3 March, Mr Dale Crandall will retire from the Board at the 2017 AGM after nearly 15 years’ service on the Board and Ansell’s General Counsel, Mr Bill Reilly will seek election to the Board at the AGM in place of Mr Crandall. Mr Reilly will bring his extensive 17 years’ experience with Ansell to the Board in his new role as a non-executive director. While the Board has chosen Mr Reilly for his business acumen, his legal skills and his independent mind, as a recently retired executive, Mr Reilly will not be an independent director under the definitions favoured by governance bodies.

Also announced on 19 May, Christina Stercken joins the Board on 1 October 2017. It is also intended that Mr Ronnie Bell will retire from the Board at the 2018 AGM. In addition, Chairman, Mr Glenn Barnes, will stand for re-election as a director at the 2017 Annual General Meeting and intends to retire at the 2019 AGM.

As announced on 10 February, Mr John Bevan has assumed the position of Deputy Chairman and it is intended that Mr Bevan will succeed Mr Barnes following the 2019 AGM as the next Chairman of your Company.

So, with this phased plan we expect to renew the board, add new skills and experience and maintain continuity while securing a well-orchestrated succession to both the Chairman and CEO roles.