New Non-Executive Director for Coats plc
- 17 Dec 2013
Coats plc, the world’s leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business, has appointed Ruth Anderson as Non-Executive Director, effective 2 January 2014. Ruth is currently Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at Ocado Group plc and Travis Perkins plc.
Ruth is a chartered accountant and has spent much of her career at KPMG LLP where she was a member of the UK board for the six years to 2004 and vice chairman for the five years to 2009.
Rob Campbell, Chairman, Guinness Peat Group plc, said: ‘This significant appointment has been made by Coats confirming the moves towards its independence as a listed company and ongoing completion of the GPG restructure process.’
Mike Clasper, Chairman, Coats plc, said: ‘Ruth is an important addition to the Coats Board as the business readies itself to return to listed company status. Ruth has deep and relevant experience in finance and audit which, coupled with her non-executive directorships in both the consumer and industrial sectors, provides an excellent fit with our business. I look forward to working with her and to the contribution and insight she will bring.’
Ruth Anderson added: ‘I am delighted to be joining the board of Coats plc, which has such a strong heritage and continues to innovate for the benefit of its extraordinary range of customers across the world. I am also looking forward to being part of the board which will return it to listed company status.’
Additional background
Ruth joined KPMG in 1976 as a student accountant, qualifying as a chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser. In her long career at KPMG she worked with many global businesses as well as being part of the UK leadership team from 1998 to 2009.
Ruth is also a director of The Royal Parks, which is an executive agency of the Department of Culture Media and Sport and a trustee of the charity the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. She was born in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland and has a BA in French and Spanish from the University of Bradford.
Photos are available on request from kristina.blissett@coats.com
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Anna Mitchell, Head of Group Communications, anna.mitchell@coats.com
T +44 (0)208 210 5015, M +44 (0)7740 747976
Notes to Editors
About Coats
With a rich heritage dating back to the 1750s, Coats is the world's leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business, at home in more than 70 countries, employing over 20,000 people across six continents. Revenues in 2012 were US$1.7bn.
Our well-known brands and strong relationships with customers and consumers mean our products and services meet current and future needs. Our company-wide understanding of our business partners and consumers, coupled with the deep expertise of our people, builds trust and certainty.
Coats’ pioneering history and innovative culture ensure the company continues leading the way around the world: providing complementary and value added products and services to the apparel and footwear industries; extending the crafts offer into new markets and online; and applying innovative techniques to develop products in new areas such as tracer threads, aramids and fibre optics.
- One in five garments on the planet is held together using Coats’ thread
- 75 million car airbags are made using Coats’ thread every year
- Coats produces enough yarn to knit 65 million scarves a year
- In three and a half hours, Coats makes enough thread to go to the moon and back
- 300 million pairs of shoes are made every year using Coats’ thread
- One million teabags using Coats’ thread are brewed every 10 minutes
- Thousands of surgical operations take place every day using Coats’ thread
- Thomas Edison used Coats’ thread in 1879 to invent the light bulb
- Coats produces enough thread to reach around the Equator every 11 minutes
- Coats is the second largest and fastest growing global zip manufacturer
To find out more about Coats visit www.coats.com
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