EMERYVILLE, Calif., June 26,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMRS), a
leading synthetic biotechnology company accelerating the world's
transition to sustainable consumption through its Lab-to-Market™
technology platform and clean beauty consumer brands, today
announced that John Melo has
resigned from his role as President & Chief Executive Officer
and a member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. The
Company's Board of Directors has appointed Han Kieftenbeld as Interim Chief Executive
Officer. Mr. Kieftenbeld will remain as the Company's Chief
Financial Officer. The Company also announced a global reduction in
force as an important step towards its previously announced cost
reduction targets.
"John's dedication and leadership were instrumental in the
evolution of Amyris' Lab-to-Market technology platform and the
development of our diversified consumer brands portfolio. On behalf
of the Board of Directors, I sincerely thank John for his many
contributions over the last 16 years," said Geoffrey Duyk, Board Chair of Amyris. "We have
utmost confidence in Han's ability to lead Amyris as Interim Chief
Executive Officer through this critical period of
transformation."
As announced earlier this month, the Company has engaged the
Business Recovery Services unit of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to
guide its transformation efforts. As part of this process, the
Company aims to deliver Fit-to-Win cost actions of approximately
$250 million. This effort includes
optimizing the costs of goods sold, reducing operating expenses and
streamlining the business portfolio.
"We are making tough choices including the decision to implement
a reduction in force which we are executing today. We thank our
departing employees for their efforts, dedication and contributions
to Amyris," said Han Kieftenbeld,
Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of
Amyris. "I want to thank the Board for placing confidence in me to
lead Amyris through this next phase. I will work closely with my
leadership team and colleagues globally to set out a path towards
profitable growth and sustained cash generation."
About Amyris
Amyris (Nasdaq: AMRS) is a leading
synthetic biotechnology company, transitioning the Clean Health
& Beauty and Flavors & Fragrances markets to sustainable
ingredients through fermentation and the company's proprietary
Lab-to-Market™ technology platform. This Amyris platform
leverages state-of-the-art machine learning, robotics and
artificial intelligence, enabling the company to rapidly bring new
innovation to market at commercial scale. Amyris ingredients are
included in over 20,000 products from the world's top brands,
reaching more than 300 million consumers. Amyris also owns and
operates a family of consumer brands that is constantly evolving to
meet the growing demand for sustainable, effective and accessible
products. For more information, please visit
http://www.amyris.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains
forward-looking statements, and any statements other than
statements of historical fact could be deemed to be forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other
things, statements regarding future events, such as Amyris'
expectations regarding the success of its transformation efforts
and Fit-to-Win cost actions of approximately $250 million and setting out a path towards
profitable growth and sustained cash generation. These statements
are based on management's current expectations, and actual results
and future events may differ materially due to risks and
uncertainties, including risks related to Amyris' liquidity and
ability to operate as a going concern, risks related to its
financing activities including successfully obtaining waivers and
amendments of outstanding loan agreements, risks related to
potential delays or failures in completing planned strategic
transactions and dispositions, risks related to potential delays or
failures in development, regulatory approval, launch, production
and commercialization of products, risks related to global economic
trends, inflation and policy measures undertaken to address
inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic and any other geopolitical events,
including the Ukraine conflict, resulting in global economic,
financial and supply chain disruptions that may negatively impact
Amyris' business operations and financial results or cause market
volatility, risks related to Amyris' reliance on third parties
particularly in the supply chain, and other risks detailed from
time to time in filings Amyris makes with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including Annual Reports on Form 10-K,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.
Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information contained in
these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise.
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SOURCE Amyris, Inc.