Smiths Group appoints new Finance Director

Smiths Group plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris O’Shea as its new Finance Director, effective from 18 September 2015. Chris, 41, is currently Chief Financial Officer of the FTSE-250 company Vesuvius plc, a global leader in molten metal flow engineering. He formerly held senior international finance posts in BG Group plc and Royal Dutch Shell plc.

As previously announced, Rob White will continue as Interim Chief Financial Officer until Chris takes up his new post.  Rob White, who replaced Peter Turner when he stepped down as Finance Director last week, will return to his position as Vice President, Global Finance for Smiths Medical following his temporary assignment.

Chief Executive Philip Bowman said: “I am delighted to welcome Chris to Smiths. He arrives at an exciting time as we continue to invest in our Engineered for Growth programme to accelerate top-line performance. His strong finance skills and corporate experience of the engineering and multi-national energy sectors will greatly benefit our business.”

Chris O’Shea said: “Smiths has been a byword for engineering excellence for more than 150 years and I am thrilled to be joining a global leader with ambitious growth plans across a comprehensive range of products and markets.  I look forward to becoming part of Smiths exciting future and working with the team to deliver the growth initiatives.”

Statutory and other disclosures
There are no directorships to disclose in respect of paragraph 9.6.13R (1) and no details to disclose in respect of paragraph 9.6.13R (2) to (6) of the Listing Rules.

Chris O’Shea’s service contract, remuneration and benefits will be consistent with the Smiths Group directors’ remuneration policy approved by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in November 2014.  A summary of the key terms is provided here and further detail will be set out in the Company’s remuneration report following his appointment.

His base salary will be £495,000 and he will be eligible for an annual bonus of up to 150% of base salary, one third of which will be deferred into Smiths Group shares. He will also be eligible for an annual award under the company’s LTIP of up to 250% of base salary. Additionally, he will receive a pension allowance of 25% of his base salary, private healthcare and other customary benefits worth c. £1,000 in total.

As a consequence of joining Smiths Group, Chris is expected to forfeit certain bonus and long term incentives from his current employer.  In order to compensate him for that, he will (a) receive a one-off award over 71,938 Smiths Group shares vesting in equal instalments on the first and second anniversary of his start date with Smiths Group and (b) be entitled to a cash payment calculated by reference to the pro-rated 2015 annual bonus foregone in respect of his current employment.

Chris O’Shea’s service contract requires 6 months’ notice of termination by him and 12 months by the Company.  The Company may also terminate his employment by making a payment in lieu of notice (PILON) equivalent to the value of his base salary and benefits set out above (including pension allowance but excluding bonus) in respect of any unserved period of notice. The service contract contains specific provisions enabling a reduction in any phased PILON payments in the event that he finds alternative employment during the notice period.