Appointment of New Chair

17^th December 2020

Synthomer plc ('Synthomer' or 'the Company')

Appointment of New Chair

Synthomer announces that on 16^th December Neil Johnson stepped down as Chairman of the Company after nine years on the Board, eight of which have been as Chair.

As announced on 30^th March 2020, the Board is pleased to confirm that Caroline Johnstone has succeeded Neil as Chair of Synthomer. Caroline joined the Board as a non-executive director in 2015, where she has been Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees. Cynthia Dubin will replace Caroline as Chair of the Audit Committee.

Caroline has nearly 40 years' experience of working with chemicals and other large global organisations.  Her experience includes delivering value from mergers and acquisitions, culture change and cost optimisation. She was a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and sat on the Board of its UK Assurance practice, 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 Shepherd Building Group Limited, a private company which owns the Portakabin business.  She also has an honorary position on the governing board of the University of Manchester. 

Neil Johnson commented:

"It has been a pleasure serving on Synthomer's Board for the last nine years. During that time, the Company has successfully established itself as a leading, global, differentiated chemicals business.  As confirmed in our recent Q3 trading update, Synthomer is benefiting from its clear strategy and effective business model and has proven resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic, with trading momentum across all divisions. Synthomer is well placed for the future, not least as it realises the benefits of the OMNOVA acquisition completed earlier this year.

I am delighted that I will be succeeded by Caroline, who has made a significant contribution to the Company during her time on the Board and who will preside over a business that I know can go from strength to strength." 

Caroline Johnstone commented:

"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Neil for the enormous contribution that he has made to the business over the last nine years. He has overseen a huge period of change and progress, and he leaves with our best wishes for the future. It is a privilege to succeed him as Chair and I look forward to working with other Board colleagues and the management team to take the business forward."

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