The Board of Directors of SGS SA has been informed by Mr. Chris Kirk of his wish to relinquish his position as Chief Executive Officer of the Group.
The Board regrets the decision, fully recognizing the leadership skills that Mr. Kirk exhibited since his appointment in 2006 as CEO of the Group and which were largely responsible for SGS growing and maintaining its leadership position in the industry. Mr. Kirk will be proposed as a director at next Shareholders Meeting to be held in Geneva on March 12, 2015, at which time he will officially relinquish his responsibilities as Chief Executive.
Effective that date, the Board will appoint Mr. Frankie Ng, currently Executive Vice President for SGS Industrial Services as the Group's new Chief Executive Officer.
Born in 1966, a Swiss and Chinese citizen, Mr. Ng was raised in Geneva where he received a BA in Economics and Electronics Engineering. He joined SGS in 1994 and has held various positions of increasing responsibility in China and in the US. As Executive Vice President for SGS Consumer Testing from 2005 to 2011, he nearly doubled the size of the business and drove its development on an international scale. In the last three years, under his leadership, the Industrial Services business has regained its dynamism, has grown by nearly 25% notwithstanding difficult trading conditions and is well positioned to strengthen along very clearly defined strategic guidelines.
"I am very thankful to Chris for his 34 years of dedication to our Group. He was a key player in the reorganization of the Group back in 2002 and an invaluable contributor in the formation and functioning of the Operations Council. Under his leadership as CEO, SGS experienced the most rapid growth in its history and established itself as the undisputed industry leader," said Sergio Marchionne, Chairman of SGS.
He added "I have known Frankie for more than a decade, and I have watched him grow as a leader within SGS while testing his skills across industries and geographies. I am convinced that with him at the helm of SGS, the company will continue to grow profitably and strengthen its position as industry leader.
The appointment of Frankie Ng from the ranks of the Operations Council is further confirmation of the strength of the leadership bench of SGS. It is one of the key strengths of the Group designed to allow for uninterrupted guidance at the top."
The Board of Directors would like to thank Chris for his unwavering dedication to the company and looks forward to his continuing contribution as a director. It also wishes Frankie every possible success in his role and looks forward to many years of sound and profitable growth.
For further information, please contact:
Jean-Luc de Buman
Corporate Development,
Communications & IR
SGS SA
1 place des Alpes
CH - 1211 Geneva 1
t: +41-22 739 91 11
f: +41-22 739 92 00
www.sgs.com
About SGS
SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 80,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,650 offices and laboratories around the world.