MONTREAL, Oct. 21, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Velan Inc.
(TSX:VLN) announces CEO transition plan
Velan Inc (TSX: VLN) today announced that in accordance with its
succession plan, CEO Yves Leduc will
leave Velan after seven years leading the Corporation. Mr. Leduc
will remain in his current role until November 30th when he will be
succeeded by the current President, Bruno
Carbonaro, who will assume the role of CEO on December 1st. According to the
transition plan approved by the Board, Mr. Leduc will become
Special Advisor to the Chairman and will remain a director of the
Board until January 12th,
2022.
Jim Mannebach, Chairman of the
Board, stated "The announcement today is an outcome of the
Company's succession plan, whereby Bruno
Carbonaro was hired by Yves in 2019. During the year, Yves
let us know of his intention to leave once an orderly transition
plan had been fully defined and carried out. It was
accordingly decided that the right time for the CEO succession was
the beginning of the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year, as
the completion of the transformative V20 plan marks the beginning
of a new phase in the Company's development. The Board wishes to
recognize the substantial contributions of Yves Leduc during his years as leader of Velan
under difficult market conditions and a global pandemic."
Tom Velan, Director and former
CEO and Chairman said "Yves became the first non-Velan family
leader of the company which was a tough challenge after 65 years of
family leadership. His leadership role was made more difficult by
the collapse of the oil price shortly before Yves joined the
company and by the COVID global pandemic which again highly
impacted the global economy and energy markets. In 2019, Yves
convinced the board about the need for the V20 restructuring plan
and led the transformation process. Yves demonstrated remarkable
leadership in steering the company through the uncharted waters of
completing such a major restructuring while facing a global
pandemic. Following the restructuring, the company is now in a
better position for profitable growth. I want to thank Yves for
leading the company through such a challenging
period."
"In 2015, I inherited the role of heading one of the preeminent
companies in the valve industry, known globally for its outstanding
brand and products," said Yves. "Since then, my team's purpose was
to reposition Velan in an industry that had changed dramatically,
to increase our market focus, and better serve our customers by
leveraging more effectively our capabilities as a true global
corporation. With the deployment of V20 now mostly behind us,
delivering the expected margin improvement, as highlighted at our
last quarterly report, as well as a near-record backlog achieved
despite the outbreak of the global pandemic, Velan is poised for a
strong rebound. To my team and each of our employees,
everywhere in the world, I want to tell them how extremely proud I
am of them and express my deepest gratitude for their relentless
efforts. I wish to thank the Board of Directors for its support
through often challenging times. Finally, to the Velan family, and
Tom in particular, thank you for your trust. What you have
accomplished since the Company's foundation in 1950 is formidable,
and I am honored to have played a part in the most recent chapter
of Velan's remarkable history."
"Bruno Carbonaro has
demonstrated, throughout his career, extraordinary leadership
abilities. In his two years with the Company, his role has rapidly
expanded to include the global scope of our operations. He has
proven he is the right leader at the right time for Velan, ready to
succeed me. I look forward to supporting Bruno through a successful
transition until the end of the fiscal year" commented Yves.
Jim Mannebach added: "The Board
is convinced that under the leadership of Bruno, Velan will succeed
and thrive. I look forward to working with Bruno, as I have with
Yves since I became Chairman, as we focus on growth in all of our
markets, generating positive returns to our stakeholders."
About Velan
Founded in Montreal in 1950,
Velan Inc. (www.velan.com) is one of the world's leading
manufacturers of industrial valves, with sales of US$302.1 million in its last reported fiscal
year. The Company employs close to 1,700 people and has
manufacturing plants in 9 countries. Velan Inc. is a public company
with its shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the
symbol VLN.
Safe harbour statement
This news release may include forward-looking statements, which
generally contain words like "should", "believe", "anticipate",
"plan", "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "continue" or "estimate"
or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar
expressions, all of which are subject to risks and uncertainties,
which are disclosed in the Company's filings with the appropriate
securities commissions. While these statements are based on
management's assumptions regarding historical trends, current
conditions and expected future developments, as well as other
factors that it believes are reasonable and appropriate in the
circumstances, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and
actual future results may differ materially from those expressed
herein. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update
or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except
as required by the applicable securities laws. The forward-looking
statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified
by this cautionary statement.
SOURCE Velan Inc.
