New Chairman appointed for Coats plc
- 21 Aug 2013
GPG announces the appointment of Mike Clasper CBE as Non-Executive Chairman of its wholly owned subsidiary Coats plc. Mike is currently a non executive director of ITV plc and Chairman of Which? Ltd. He was formerly Chief Executive of BAA plc and Chairman of HMRC and has held a number of senior executive positions at Procter & Gamble.
Mike will take up his role as Chairman of Coats plc on 1 September 2013, taking over from existing Chairman, Mike Allen, who will remain on the Coats Board as a Non-Executive Director.
Commenting on the appointment, Rob Campbell, Chairman of GPG, stated “Mike Clasper’s appointment as Chairman of Coats plc is part of the transition announced previously whereby GPG will be renamed as Coats plc at the point when GPG shareholders’ investment is predominantly represented by the Coats business. He brings a wealth of experience to the management of a diverse business like Coats and to the development of its international activities and brands. The GPG Board and I are confident that Mike will successfully lead the future Group through its next phase. The timing of this appointment coincides with the near completion of the GPG asset disposal programme and simplification of the investment activity of the Group. While the previously announced UK Pension Regulator review has impacted and will continue to impact on completing the transition, further progress is being made to reduce costs and simplify GPG’s structure.”
Commenting on his appointment, Mike Clasper stated “I am very pleased to be joining Coats at this exciting stage of its evolution. Coats is a truly global business with strong market positions and good opportunities for profitable growth. I am looking forward to working with the Board and management as the business makes the transition to being a standalone listed company.”
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Coats plc:
Anna Mitchell +44 20 8210 5015
New Zealand and Australian media:
Geoff Senescall +64 9 309 5659
UK media:
Charles Ryland +44 20 7466 5000
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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