Essilor International reinforces the diversity
of gender and nationalities within its Board of Directors
(Charenton-le-Pont - France, February, 19, 2016) - In order to strengthen the gender balance and international perspective of its board of directors, Essilor International will submit the nomination of two new independent directors to the shareholders' vote at the Company's Annual General Meeting on May 11th.
Once these resolutions are approved, Ms Henrietta Fore and Ms Annette Messemer will join the Board of Directors for three years renewable.
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Ms Henrietta H. Fore, of American nationality, will bring to Essilor her business leadership experiences in both public and private sectors. Ms Fore was the first woman to serve as Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and is the first woman Co-Chair of Asia Society. She is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Holsman International.
Ms Annette Messemer, of German nationality, is divisional Board Member of "Corporates & Markets" at Commerzbank AG (Germany). The Company will benefit from her extensive expertise in terms of strategy and finance, gained through her functions within international financial institutions.
In addition, Essilor will propose the renewal of the mandate of Ms Maureen Cavanagh (President of the Vision Impact Institute) for a further three years and seek to ratify the nomination of Ms Juliette Favre (Chairman of Valoptec Association) - both of whom are directors who represent employee shareholders.
At the end of the AGM, and if these resolutions are approved, The Board of Directors will consist of 14 members representing 5 nationalities (American, Canadian, Chinese, French and German).
CONTACTS
| Corporate Communications Lucia Dumas | Media Relations Maïlis Thiercelin Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 77 45 02 | Investor Relations and Financial Communication Véronique Gillet - Sébastien Leroy Ariel Bauer Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 77 42 16 |
ANNEX - Biographies
| Ms Henrietta H. Fore is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Holsman International. From 2007 to 2009, Ms. Fore was Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Director of United States Foreign Assistance. She was the first woman to hold these positions. From 2005 to 2007, Ms. Fore served as Under Secretary of State for Management (Chief Operating Officer for the Department of State). Ms. Fore served as the 37th Director of the United States Mint in the Department of Treasury from 2001 to 2005, a role for which she received the Alexander Hamilton Award in 2005, the Department of Treasury's highest honor. Previously, she had managed private companies specialized in the manufacture of steel and cement products for use in the construction industry. Ms. Fore also holds leadership positions in numerous international non-profit organizations (Chair: Middle East Investment Initiative; Global Co-Chair: Asia Society; Co-chair: the North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity In Partners for a New beginning etc. Please refer to Holsman International website for additional information: www.holsmaninternational.com. |
| Ms Annette Messemer is a Divisional Board Member of "Corporates & Markets" at the Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt (Germany). She was a member of the Supervisory Board of WestLB AG in Düsseldorf until 2011. She started her career as Associate at JP Morgan before taking the position as Vice President in 1999 and then as senior banker at JP Morgan Chase in 2003. From 2006 to 2009, she served as Managing Director at Merrill Lynch. Annette Messemer is also member of the Supervisory Board of K+S Aktiengesellschaft (Germany) and Commerz Real AG (Germany). |
About Essilor
The world's leading ophthalmic optics company, Essilor designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of lenses to improve and protect eyesight. Its mission is to improve lives by improving sight. To support this mission, Essilor allocates more than €200 million to research and innovation every year, in a commitment to continuously bring new, more effective products to market. Its flagship brands are Varilux®, Crizal®, Transitions®, EyezenTM, Xperio®, Foster Grant®, BolonTM and Costa®. It also develops and markets equipment, instruments and services for eyecare professionals.
Essilor reported consolidated revenue of more than €6.7 billion in 2015 and employs 61,000 people worldwide. It markets its products in more than 100 countries and has 32 plants, 490 prescription laboratories and edging facilities, as well as 5 research and development centers around the world. For more information, please visit www.essilor.com.
The Essilor share trades on the Euronext Paris market and is included in the Euro Stoxx 50 and CAC 40 indices.
Codes and symbols: ISIN: FR0000121667; Reuters: ESSI.PA; Bloomberg: EI:FP.
