Petra Diamonds
Limited
("Petra" or the "Company" or the
“Group”)
Appointment of
Non-Executive Directors
Petra today announces the following Non-Executive Director
appointments, effective immediately.
Deborah Gudgeon is
appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director and
Chair-designate of the Audit & Risk Committee. Deborah is an
Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee
of the FTSE 100 natural resources and industrial group Evraz plc,
which she joined in 2015. She has been Independent Non-Executive
Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of Highland Gold
Mining Limited, and Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of
the Audit Committee of Acacia Mining plc.
Deborah qualified as an ACA at PwC (Coopers & Lybrand)
before spending eight years as Finance Executive with the
Africa-focused mining and trading
group Lonrho plc, and then held positions with Deloitte, BDO,
Gazelle Corporate Finance and Penfida Limited. She holds a BSc in
Political Science and Government from the London School of Economics and Political Science
and is a member of the ICAEW. Deborah will serve on Petra’s
Nominations, Audit & Risk, Remuneration and Investment
Committees. She is a British Citizen.
Alexandra (Alex) Watson is
appointed as a Non-independent Non-Executive Director, having been
nominated by Franklin Templeton.
Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Cape Town, she is the Lead Independent
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of
Coronation Fund Managers in South
Africa and is Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair
of the Audit and Risk Committee of Steinhoff International Holdings
N.V.
Alex is a former Chair of the Accounting Practices Committee of
the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants and is
currently Chair of the South African Financial Reporting
Investigations Panel. She was a Board Member, and in 2019 was
Vice-Chair of the Amsterdam-based
Global Reporting Initiative and is a Board Member and member of the
Audit, Finance and Investment Committees of WWF-SA. Alex
holds a BCom degree from the University of Cape Town and is a qualified Chartered
Accountant (SA). A South African citizen, she will serve on
Petra’s Social, Ethics and Diversity, and Investment
Committees.
Johannes Bhatt is
appointed as a Non-independent Non-Executive Director, having been
nominated by Monarch Master Funding 2 (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l. Johannes is currently
Managing Director of Incomet Capital GmbH, an investment company
within the mining sector, and a Board Member of Zangezur Copper
Molybdenum Combine, formerly part of the Cronimet Mining Group.
He was previously a Non-Executive Board member of Stemcor Global
Holdings, a steel trading company, having previously been for ten
years with Scholz Holding GmbH, an international metals recycling
and industrial group, latterly as Chief Financial Officer. His
earlier career was with Deutsche Bank AG. Johannes studied
Economics at the University of Augsburg and holds an MBA from the
University of Stuttgart. A German
citizen, he will serve on Petra’s Investment and Health, Safety and
Environment Committees.
Peter Hill,
Non-Executive Chairman of Petra Diamonds commented:
“I would like to welcome
Deborah, Alex and Johannes to the Board of Petra; together they
bring a wealth of experience, complementing those of our existing
Directors, and their appointments leave the Board well placed to
take the company forward”.
~ Ends ~
For further information, please
contact:
Petra Diamonds,
London
Telephone: +44 20 7494 8203
Marianna
Bowes
investorrelations@petradiamonds.com
Des
Kilalea
Julia Stone
Notes to appointments and changes to
Committee Memberships
Ms Watson's and Mr Bhatt's appointments to the Board are
pursuant to and in accordance with a Nomination Agreement that has
been executed between the Company, Franklin
Templeton and Monarch. Further details of the
Nomination Agreement are contained in the combined circular and
prospectus published by the Company on 22
December 2020.
Consequent to the above appointments, Matthew Glowasky will stand down from the
Nominations Committee which will now be comprised of Independent
Non-executive Directors. Matthew
Glowasky will also stand down from the SED Committee
consequent on Alex Watson’s appointment to the Committee, while
Johannes Bhatt will join the HSE
Committee. Bernie Pryor will join
the Investment Committee.
About Petra Diamonds Limited
Petra Diamonds is a leading independent diamond mining group and
a consistent supplier of gem quality rough diamonds to the
international market. The Company has a diversified portfolio
incorporating interests in three underground producing mines in
South Africa (Finsch, Cullinan and
Koffiefontein) and one open pit mine in Tanzania (Williamson).
Petra's strategy is to focus on value rather than volume
production by optimising recoveries from its high-quality asset
base in order to maximise their efficiency and profitability. The
Group has a significant resource base of ca. 243 million carats,
which supports the potential for long-life operations.
Petra strives to operate according to the highest ethical
standards and will only operate in countries which are members of
the Kimberley Process. The Company aims to generate tangible value
for each of its stakeholders, thereby contributing to the
socio-economic development of its host countries and supporting
long-term sustainable operations to the benefit of its employees,
partners and communities.
Petra is quoted with a premium listing on the Main Market of the
London Stock Exchange under the ticker 'PDL'. The Company’s
US$337 million loan notes due in 2026
will be listed on the Global Exchange market of the Irish Stock
Exchange. For more information, visit www.petradiamonds.com.