Alf Duch-Pedersen, Chairman of G4S plc, has informed the board of directors of his intention to retire from the board in 2012
G4S plc (“G4S”), the international security solutions provider, today announces that its Chairman, Alf Duch-Pedersen, has informed the board of directors of his intention to retire from the board in 2012. Mr Duch-Pedersen will remain as Chairman until a suitable successor has been appointed. The process to find a replacement for Mr Duch-Pedersen is now underway and is being conducted by the Nomination Committee, led by the Senior Independent Director, Lord Condon.
Mr Duch-Pedersen was appointed as Deputy Chairman in May 2004 and became Chairman in June 2006. He is also Chairman of the Nomination Committee.
Senior Independent Director and former Deputy Chairman, Lord Condon, commented:
“On reaching 65, and following the board’s decision to terminate negotiations regarding the ISS acquisition, Alf Duch-Pedersen has informed the board of his intention to retire this year and we have reluctantly accepted his decision. We are pleased that he is remaining as Chairman for the duration of the selection process to ensure that the transition to the new Chairman is as seamless as possible.
During his time on the board, G4S has delivered significant compound annual growth rates across all of its key financial metrics – including 21% annual profit growth and 15% annual EPS growth – and successfully acquired and integrated a large number of companies including GSL, a large government outsourcing business which has been instrumental in developing the group’s government outsourcing capability and has resulted in a number of significant contract wins in recent years.
At the same time, the global workforce has grown significantly, from 306,000 to 635,000 across 125 countries of operation. Alf was a key member of the board during the complex integration of Securicor and Group 4 to create G4S and during a global re-branding exercise to create a single corporate identity to appeal to an increasingly international customer base.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank him for his huge contribution to the success of the group and to the development of the industry during his time on the board and under his leadership as Chairman.”
Commenting on his intended retirement, Alf Duch-Pedersen said:
“I have a long history with the group and in some ways will be sad to be stepping down, but the time is right to appoint a new Chairman and I wanted to advise the board of my intention to retire so that the process to appoint a successor could begin in good time.
It has been an honour to lead the board of such a great organisation and I would like to thank the board, management and employees of G4S for their support over the last seven years and for making G4S one of the world’s leading organisations.
Despite the macro-economic challenges in recent years, I am confident that the group is in a strong position to develop in the future under the leadership of Nick Buckles and his management team and the stewardship of the new Chairman and his or her fellow board members.”