Smith & Nephew Board Elects Non-Executive Director and Chairman Smith & Nephew plc’

Smith & Nephew Board Elects Non-Executive Director and Chairman
Smith & Nephew plc’s board of directors has elected Roberto Quarta as its non-executive director and chairman. He will join the board Dec. 4 and will offer himself for re-election at the company’s annual general meeting to be held April 10, 2014. Subject to his re-election, Quarta will be appointed chairman to succeed Sir John Buchanan, who joined the board in 2005 and has been chairman since 2006, and who will retire from the board at the same time.

Quarta is chairman of IMI plc, a FTSE 100 listed engineering business, chairman of Rexel SA, a distributor of products and services for the energy industry, and chairman of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Europe, a private equity firm. He also is a non-executive director of Foster Wheeler AG, an engineering conglomerate headquartered in Switzerland. Previously, he was CEO and then chairman of BBA Group plc and a non-executive director at BAE Systems plc, Equant NV and PowerGen plc.
“We are delighted that Roberto Quarta has agreed to join the board of Smith & Nephew as non-executive director and chairman elect,” said Olivier Bohuon, CEO of the company. “He brings exceptional board experience gained in both the United Kingdom and internationally, which will be of great value as we implement our strategic priorities to take advantage of the differing opportunities in our established and emerging markets.”

“It is an honor to be joining the Board of Smith & Nephew,” commented Quarta. “I look forward to working alongside Sir John during the coming months to ensure a seamless handover and to supporting Olivier and the team as they deliver their ambitious plans to reshape Smith & Nephew.”

On his departure, Buchanan had this to say: “It has been a privilege working with the people at Smith & Nephew. The company has shown great resilience in the recent economic environment, building both services for customers and value for shareholders. There is an excellent team in place and I wish the company well for a promising future.”

Smith & Nephew is a medical technology company with focus in the orthopedics space. The company is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.