-- Company Completes Planned CEO Succession;
Also Adds Edenred CEO Jacques Stern
to Board
EYSINS, Switzerland, April
10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Blue, the leading provider of
traveler commerce technology solutions including tax-free shopping
and dynamic currency conversion, today announced the appointment of
David Baxby as Chief
Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors,
effective immediately. Mr. Baxby joins with a distinguished track
record spanning nearly two decades, including more than ten years
at Virgin Group, where he worked closely with founder Sir
Richard Branson to manage and grow
Virgin's global portfolio of branded consumer services. Most
recently, Mr. Baxby was Co-CEO of all of Virgin Group and was
particularly instrumental in Virgin's global airline activities and
its Asia-Pacific operations across
multiple sectors including travel, financial services, and
telecommunications.
"We are thrilled to welcome David
Baxby to Global Blue," said the company's board. "David
brings a unique combination of skills tailor-made for Global Blue,
spanning enterprise operations and consumer branding in both
established and emerging markets. He is the ideal executive to lead
the company's talented employees and further enhance Global Blue's
important relationships with merchants, consumers, governments, and
financial institutions."
"Global Blue is a rare franchise that has both existing market
leadership and excellent prospects for future growth," Mr. Baxby
noted. "Continued investment in technology to make the consumer and
merchant process seamless will position the company to achieve this
significant upside potential."
Consistent with the company's succession planning, Mr. Baxby
takes over from Per Setterberg, who
is retiring after 26 years of loyal service to the company. The
board commented: "We would like to thank Per for his innumerable
and invaluable contributions over many years. As CEO, he presided
over important accomplishments including geographic and product
expansion, creating a true market leader and producing a
several-fold increase in company performance. He remains a part of
the Global Blue family, and we look forward to his continuing
counsel and advice."
The company also strengthened its board by adding Jacques Stern as a non-executive director. Mr.
Stern is Chairman and CEO of Edenred (Euronext: EDEN.PA), which
pioneered the Ticket Restaurant® meal voucher system and is the
world leader in various prepaid corporate services.
"Jacques has spearheaded a tremendous success story, helping to
build Edenred into a large-scale digital network with more than €1
billion in revenue, 1.4 million affiliated merchants and 40 million
beneficiaries across 40 countries in established and emerging
markets," said the board. "Given the parallels with Global Blue, we
are privileged to have his perspectives and guidance."
Global Blue is owned by Silver Lake, the global leader in
technology investing; Partners Group, the global private markets
investment management firm; and co-investors including Global
Blue's management team.
About Global Blue
Global Blue, the leading provider of traveler commerce
technology solutions, makes retail transactions between merchants
and their foreign customers easier and more rewarding for everyone.
Having invented the concept of Tax Free Shopping more than thirty
years ago, Global Blue now offers a range of services that help
consumers shop and spend wisely when they are in foreign countries,
and help merchants and banks better serve this international
traveler market. Global Blue works with over 270,000 affiliated
retailers, shopping brands and hotels in 43 countries and processes
over 35 million transactions per year. The company's headquarters
are in Eysins, Switzerland. For
more information, please visit
http://www.global-blue.com/corporate.
Contact
Marie Bergfelt, Global Blue
+41-22365-6898
mbergfelt@globalblue.com
Emily Levin, Brunswick Group for
Silver Lake
+1-212-333-3810
silverlake@brunswickgroup.com