IC COMPANYS A/S
CHANGES BOARD/MANAGEMENT/AUDITORS
Mads Ryder has been appointed as Group CEO of IC Companys A/S with effect from
1 August 2013. Mads Ryder will be replacing Niels Mikkelsen who will be leaving
the Company after five years as CEO.
The Board of Directors of IC Companys has decided to strengthen the Group’s top
management and has consequently appointed Mads Ryder, 50, as new CEO. He will
be replacing Niels Mikkelsen who has served as CEO since August 2008.
Mads Ryder is both an internationally oriented and an experienced chief
executive. He holds a Master of Business Law and last served as CEO of Royal
Copenhagen where he was in charge of implementing substantial changes to the
company. Not only the organizational - but also the company’s financial results
were improved significantly under his management. Prior to this, he served as
Senior Vice President in WeightWatchers with residence in London, UK. Mads
Ryder has spent most of his career at the LEGO Group, among others, as Global
Head of HR and as CEO of all LEGOLAND parks. During this period he lived and
worked in Japan, Korea and Germany.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors Niels Martinsen commented on the change
of management: ”The Board of Directors is both happy and proud to have such a
top executive as Mads Ryder on board. His persistent focus on executing a
strategy leading to strong financial results is one of the competences we have
focused on. In addition, the changes in the way to operate a business in
different markets, which Mads Ryder introduced in his previous jobs and which
meant that the company’s core business experienced significant growth in a
declining market, are of course relevant to us. So is his talent and flair for
trademarks and branding. Adding to this, Mads Ryder with his strong HR skills
has also demonstrated that he is good at ensuring the support of both the
managers and the employees which has only made our choice even more obvious.”
Concerning the Board of Directors’ reason for replacing Niels Mikkelsen, the
Chairman of the Board of Directors stated: ”Niels Mikkelsen was appointed just
before the financial crisis emerged – a period during which the entire industry
faced huge challenges. Therefore, to a great extent it is due to Niels that the
Group after all managed reasonably well through some historically difficult
years for the fashion industry. Both I and the rest of the Board of Directors
would like to thank him for that. However, looking into the future, the Board
of Directors would like to have an Executive Board focusing on execution. The
corporate strategy must be converted into improved financial results and this
is exactly where Mads Ryder as demonstrated in his previous CEO positions has
proven to be very reliable.”
Mads Ryder commented himself that from the very initial contact he felt very
tempted by the notion of leading, as he considers, “one of strongest icons of
the Danish fashion scene”: ”I only accept a task that I truly feel I have a
burning passion for. Throughout my career I have had a passion for working with
distinctive brands – to nurture them, to expand them and to lead them onwards
successfully. I find it easy to identify myself with IC Companys’ new corporate
strategy and I am eager to put the strategy into visible results - to the
benefit of the shareholders, but certainly also of the entire team of
passionate managers and employees who I really look forward to getting to know
and working with.”
The former CEO is disappointed of no longer being the head of the Group, but
agrees that now it is a matter of putting the strategy into both top line and
bottom line: ”I believe that we have succeeded in accomplishing many things. We
have restructured and defined a clear strategy. Of course, I would have liked
to have taken part in the execution as well, however, this is what happens
sometimes – that is a part of the game when you accept a job as chief
executive.”, commented Niels Mikkelsen.
The change in the management will have no effect on the Group’s outlook for the
financial year 2012/13 which will be announced on Thursday 22 August as
previously reported.
The Group’s CFO Chris Bigler will resign no later than 31 October 2013 as
announced in Company Announcement no. 5/2013. The recruitment of a new CFO
proceeds as planned and is expected to be concluded by the end of September as
the Board of Directors has emphasised that the new CEO should be involved in
the final recruitment process.
IC COMPANYS A/S
Niels Martinsen
Chairman of the Board of Directors
PLEASE DIRECT ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS ANNOUNCEMENT TO :
Niels Martinsen
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Phone: +45 40 14 66 22
or
Mads Ryder
Group CEO
Phone: +45 22 56 98 98
SHORT CURRICULUM VITAE OF MADS RYDER:
BORN: 30 June 1963
EDUCATION: Reserve Officer (1982), Master of Business Law (1990) as well as
various management training, among others, IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland.
WORK EXPERIENCE:
2009-2013: CEO, Royal Copenhagen
2006-2009: Senior Vice President, WeightWatchers (residence in London)
2008-2009: Head of WeightWatchers, UK (residence in London)
2006-2008: Head of WeightWatchers, Continental Europe (residence in London)
2001-2005: CEO, LEGOLAND Parks (residence in London)Member of LEGO Company
Executive Team
2003-2005: Managing Director, LEGOLAND Windsor (residence in London)
2000-2003: CEO, LEGOLAND Billund
1997-1999: Director, Location Development, LEGOLAND Parks (residence in Japan,
Korea and Germany)
1990-1997: Different HR positions in LEGO Company, last as Global Head of HR.
DIRECTORSHIP: Board member of Jensen’s Bøfhus and MLA-Gruppen.
Photo of Mads Ryder may be downloaded from the corporate website
www.iccompanys.com under About
This announcement is a translation from the Danish language. In the event of
any discrepancy between the Danish and English versions, the Danish version
shall prevail.
