Appointment of Deputy Chair and Chair-elect

Synthomer plc

30^th March 2020

Synthomer plc ('Synthomer')

Caroline Johnstone appointed Deputy Chair and Chair-elect of Synthomer

The Board of Directors ('the Board') of Synthomer ('the Company') announces today that Neil Johnson will step down as Chairman of the Company by the end of the year. Neil has served as Chairman for eight years since his appointment to the Board in September 2011 as a non-executive director. At the 2020 AGM Neil will seek re-election as a Director in order to serve as Chairman until the end of the year.

Following an external and internal process, the Board is pleased to announce that Caroline Johnstone will be appointed Chair upon Neil's departure. She will take up the position of Deputy Chair with immediate effect. Caroline joined the Board of Synthomer as a non-executive director in 2015 and is currently Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees.

Caroline has nearly 40 years' experience of working with large global organisations on turnaround, culture change, delivering value from mergers and acquisitions and cost optimisation programmes. She was a partner and sat on the board of the Assurance practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) with responsibility for all people matters. Caroline is a chartered accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. She is a non-executive director of Spirax Sarco Engineering plc and two private companies and by the end of 2020 intends to have two non-executive roles in addition to Synthomer plc.

Neil Johnson, Chairman of Synthomer, commented:

"It has been a pleasure serving on the Board of Synthomer since 2011, during which time we have made significant progress in establishing the Company as a leading, global, differentiated chemicals business. Despite the challenges of the current economic environment, the recent completion of a material capital investment programme and the benefits that will come from the acquisition of OMNOVA give me confidence that the Company is well-placed for the future. I am delighted that I will be succeeded as Chair by Caroline Johnstone, who has made a significant contribution to the Company during her time on the Board, and I look forward to continuing to serve Synthomer until I hand over by the end of the year.." 

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