LONDON: Plant Health Care® (AIM: PHC.L), a leading provider of novel patent-protected biological products to global agriculture markets, announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer and consequent changes to the Board.
Highlights
· Jeff Tweedy, currently the Company’s Chief Operating Officer, will be appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect from the Annual General Meeting on June 22nd, 2022
· At the same time, Chris Richards, currently CEO, will be appointed Non-Executive Chairman of the Board and Richard Webb, currently Non-Executive Chairman, will step down from the Board.
Chris Richards stepped in as CEO in November 2017, having previously been Chairman since August 2012. By appointing Chris to the role of Non-Executive Chairman, the Company continues to benefit from his deep experience. At the same time, Richard Webb, currently Non-Executive Chairman, will step down from the Board to pursue other interests.
Chris Richards, CEO of Plant Health Care said, ‟I am delighted with the appointment of Jeff Tweedy as my successor, in line with our long-established succession plan. Jeff has delivered consistent and exceptional performance as COO and has earned the respect of both internal and external stakeholders. He is the perfect person to lead the company into its exciting next phase of growth. It will be an honour to support Jeff in his new role, where I have no doubt that his energy, commitment and professionalism will deliver continued success for Plant Health Care over the coming years.
“On behalf of the entire Board, I would like to express our most heartfelt thanks to Richard Webb. Richard was instrumental in the early strategic development of the company, especially in working with Dr Zhongmin Wei on the research which has delivered the enormously exciting PREtec product pipeline. As such, Richard has made an incomparable contribution to the Company. We wish him every success in his new endeavours.”
Background
Jeff Tweedy joined Plant Health Care in October 2017 as Commercial Head for North America, then promoted to Global Head of Commercial in 2020. He was then appointed Chief Operating Officer of Plant Health Care and a member of the Board of Directors in November 2019. Jeff has progressively taken on more responsibilities and discharged them with great success. Over the last 18 months, he has led most of the day-to-day operations of the Company. Under Jeff’s leadership, the Company has delivered robust financial performance and successfully brought forward the exceptionally promising PREtec (‘Vaccines for Plants’) product pipeline. In light of this performance, the Board unanimously agreed to appoint Jeff as Chief Executive Officer of Plant Health Care (CEO), with effect from the end of the Annual General Meeting on June 22nd, 2022.
With effect from June 22nd, Jeff Tweedy will be responsible for running the Company. Chris Richards will be available to mentor Jeff and to provide support for corporate development and investor relations.
Richard Webb has been a valued member of the Board since 2013 and has made an invaluable contribution to the Company’s strategy, especially in supporting the discovery and development of PREtec.
About Plant Health Care
Plant Health Care offers products to improve the health, vigour and yield of major field crops such as corn, soybeans, potatoes and rice, as well as specialty crops such as fruits and vegetables. We operate globally through subsidiaries, distributors and supply agreements with major industry partners. Our innovative, patent-protected biological products help growers to protect their crops from stress and diseases, and to produce higher quality fruit and vegetables, with a favourable environmental profile. www.planthealthcare.com