Ian Davis News

BP has announced that Carl-Henric Svanberg has informed the company’s board of directors of his intention to retire as chairman. Svanberg will chair the annual general meeting to be held in May 2018 and will remain in position until a successor is in post. Ian Davis, the BP board’s senior independent director, will now lead the process to identify and appoint BP’s next chairman. Mr Svanberg joined the BP board on 1 September 2009 and became chairman on 1 January 2010. Svanberg said: “It has been a tremendous privilege to lead the BP board over the past eight years. I am proud of the achievements of the management and the company in that time. The first couple of years were incredibly challenging for us all as we navigated an unusually complex corporate crisis.

Rolls-Royce today announced the appointment of Bradley Singer as a Non-Executive Director. He will join the Board with immediate effect and will become a member of the Science and Technology Committee. Brad is a Partner and Chief Operating Officer of ValueAct Capital, the San Francisco based Investment Company. ValueAct Capital is currently the largest investor in Rolls-Royce with a shareholding of 10.8%. Before joining ValueAct Capital, Brad had been Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Discovery Communications, Inc. and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of American Tower Corp. Prior to these appointments, he worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in New York and London. He is a Director of Motorola Solutions, Inc.

Rolls-Royce's new chief executive aims to strip out costs and complexity, rather than selling off chunks of the business, as he seeks to return the British engine company to growth. After four profit warnings in just over a year, and with an activist shareholder pushing for change, Warren East is under pressure to outline a revival strategy after spending much of his first four months in the job in firefighting mode. "The notion that we're going to sell big chunks is just wrong," East told reporters on a call, although he did not rule out change in the longer term. U.S.

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc today announces the appointment of Sir Kevin Smith CBE as a Non-Executive Director. Sir Kevin will join the Board with effect from 1 November 2015 and will become a member of the Nominations and Governance Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Science & Technology Committee. Sir Kevin joins from Unitas Capital, a leading Asian private equity firm, where he has been a full-time partner based in Hong Kong since joining the firm in February 2012. He has used his extensive industrial leadership experience to work closely with Unitas' portfolio companies, including being a director of technology company Edwards Group Limited (previously NASDAQ listed) from March 2012 until its sale to Atlas Copco in August 2013.

Rolls-Royce appointed Alan Davies as a Non-Executive Director. He will join the Board with effect from November 1, 2015 and will become a member of the Nominations and Governance Committee, and the Audit Committee. Alan Davies is currently Chief Executive of Rio Tinto's Diamonds and Minerals division. He joined Rio Tinto in 1997 and has held a number of senior positions in Australia, London and the US, predominantly in Rio Tinto's Iron Ore product group where he has served as CFO, Managing Director Global Development and as President International Operations. Alan Davies is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Ian Davis, Rolls-Royce, Chairman, said, "I am delighted that Alan Davies will be joining us as a Non-Executive Director.

John Rishton will retire as chief executive of Rolls-Royce on July 2, 2015 and will be succeeded by Warren East, whose appointment follows an extensive international search, the company announced today. Warren East was CEO of ARM Holdings from 2001 to 2013. Warren has been a nonexecutive director of Rolls-Royce since January 2014, also serving as a nonexecutive director on the boards of BT, De La Rue, Dyson, Micron Inc. and Digital Catapult. His intention is to stand down from all but one of his current roles as a nonexecutive Director, in line with Rolls-Royce company policy. Commenting on his appointment, East said, “[Rolls-Royce] is well positioned in growth markets, with world class engineering skills and a proud record of innovation and delivery.

Rolls-Royce announced today that James Guyette, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rolls-Royce North America, has decided to retire after 17 years with the company. He is currently an Executive Director on the Board of Rolls-Royce plc and Chairman of Rolls-Royce North America Holdings Inc. He will step down from the Rolls-Royce plc Board at the Annual General Meeting on 8 May 2015, and from his role at Rolls-Royce North America on 31 May 2015. Chairman, Ian Davis said, "I'd like to pay tribute to the tremendous contribution Jim Guyette has made to Rolls-Royce over many years. He has helped guide the business through a period of significant expansion, especially in the North American market.

Rolls-Royce is pleased to announce that Ruth Cairnie has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the Company with effect from 1 September 2014. Ruth Cairnie was formerly Executive Vice President Strategy & Planning at Royal Dutch Shell Plc, where she held a number of senior international roles, including managing the Global Commercial Fuels business. She served on the boards of Shell Pakistan Ltd and joint venture companies in Germany and Thailand. She is currently a Non-Executive Director of Associated British Foods plc and Keller Group plc. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Rotterdam School of Management. Ruth graduated in Joint Honours Mathematics & Physics from Bristol University and then took a Masters in Advanced Studies, Maths, at Cambridge University.

Rolls-Royce announce that Ian Davis will succeed Sir Simon Robertson as Chairman. Mr. Davis will join the Board as a non-executive Director on 1 March 2013 and take over from Sir Simon at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on 2 May 2013. Ian Davis spent more than thirty years with McKinsey & Company, including six as Chairman and Worldwide Managing Director. He serves, as a non-executive Director, on the Boards of BP and Johnson & Johnson and is a non-executive member of the Cabinet Office Board.