HORSHAM: Ceres Power Holdings, a global leader in fuel cell technology, announced that in line with Board succession planning Alan Aubrey, Chairman of the Company, is standing down and that Warren Finegold, currently a Non-Executive Director, will succeed him as Chairman with immediate effect.

Mr. Aubrey has served as Chairman of Ceres since December 2012 and will remain a Non-Executive Director to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities to Mr. Finegold. Mr. Aubrey will retire from the Board on 28 September 2020, in accordance with good corporate governance practice on Board tenure and in line with the announcement of the Company’s interim results.

Robert Trezona, a Non-Executive Director who has served on the Board of Ceres since championing IP Group plc’s investment into the business in 2012, will also step down from the Board at this time.

Mr. Finegold joined the Board of Ceres in March 2020 as an independent Non-Executive Director. In his career, he has spent more than 20 years in Investment Banking and 10 years on the Vodafone Group Executive Committee. He is also Senior Independent Director of Avast plc.  Mr. Finegold brings significant expertise in global business development as well as strong board experience and active knowledge of governance and regulatory matters.

On his appointment, Warren Finegold commented: “I am delighted to succeed Alan Aubrey as Chairman. Ceres is an excellent business, with a unique technology and a highly committed team of people. It faces an enormous opportunity to provide fuel cell technology to many industrial and domestic sectors at a time when the need for clean energy has never been clearer to governments, industry and consumers.”

Alan Aubrey added: “Chairing Ceres has been a pleasure and a rare opportunity to build a UK technology company making meaningful strides in clean energy. I feel this is the right time to hand over to a new Chair to take the Company through the next phase of its growth. I am pleased we have someone of Warren’s calibre and experience to take on this role and I am sure he will enjoy working with the Ceres management team. I wish Warren and the Board every success for the future.”

Phil Caldwell, Chief Executive of Ceres commented: “Alan and Rob’s contribution over the past few years has been instrumental in building Ceres into a global technology business with world-class partnerships. I am personally grateful to Alan for his unwavering support for me and the wider business over the past seven years and I know he will continue to follow Ceres’ progress with interest. Warren has already fitted into the Board with ease and I look forward to working with him closely as we continue to build an exciting future for Ceres. “