Constantine
Karayannopoulos to Retire from Neo in July 2023 and will be Succeeded by Neo President and Interim Chief Financial
Officer Rahim Suleman
TORONTO, May 12, 2023
/CNW/ - Neo Performance Materials Inc. ("Neo" or the
"Company") (TSX: NEO) announced today that Constantine E. Karayannopoulos, Chief Executive
Officer, will retire from the Company and the Board of Directors on
July 7, 2023, after leading the
Company for more than 25 years including, most recently, as the
Chief Executive Officer for the last three years. Rahim Suleman, currently the President and
Interim Chief Financial Officer, will succeed Mr. Karayannopoulos
as Chief Executive Officer upon Mr. Karayannopoulos' retirement and
will be appointed to the Board of Directors at that time. Following
a robust recruiting process, the Company has identified a strong
CFO candidate and expects to announce further details on this
appointment within the next few weeks.
"On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank
Constantine for his invaluable contributions to Neo," said
Claire Kennedy, Chair of the Board
of Directors. "For more than 25 years Constantine has navigated Neo
through periods of significant change and has consistently led Neo
to become a stronger and more resilient company. Through relentless
focus on customer satisfaction and strategic positioning,
Constantine has succeeded in transforming Neo into one of the
world's leading advanced materials manufacturers and suppliers of
engineered rare earth and rare metal products. Constantine's
thoughtful approach to capital allocation, investment in strategic
capabilities, and employee health and safety has significantly
improved Neo's operational performance and positioned the Company
for a bright future."
"It has been an honour to dedicate most of my professional
career to the Neo organization," said Mr. Karayannopoulos. "From
the beginning, my approach has been to build on Neo's strengths and
invest in the people, culture, and technology that will position
the Company for long-term success in a rapidly changing world. I
could not be more proud of our team's leadership position in many
of the world's most technologically advanced projects and
collaborations, including our expansion into the production of rare
earth magnets in Europe for
electric vehicles and a similar potential future expansion in
North America. I have great
confidence in the future success of this world-class team, and in
Rahim's talents and ability to continue to expand Neo's operations
and global success, and I look forward to working with Rahim in the
coming months to ensure a seamless transition."
"Executive development and succession planning are critical
responsibilities of the Board of Directors and today's announcement
concludes a comprehensive succession process that further
highlights the strength and depth of Neo's leadership," commented
Ms. Kennedy. "Rahim has demonstrated outstanding vision and
leadership since joining Neo more than six years ago. His
customer-centric mindset, focus on operational excellence, and
leadership skills will serve Neo well in the years ahead and we
look forward to Neo's continued momentum under his leadership."
Mr. Suleman became President of Neo in January 2023, after serving as Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer of Neo and its predecessor
company since January 2017. Over the
course of his career, Rahim has held progressively senior
leadership positions, and was Chief Financial Officer at Stackpole
International from 2010 through to 2016. Mr. Suleman holds a CPA
designation and graduated from the University
of Waterloo with a Masters in Accountancy.
"I would like to thank Constantine for his leadership, vision
and mentorship," said Mr. Suleman. "Constantine has strengthened
the capabilities of the Company and helped to build a strong
foundation for our continued success. I am honoured and proud to
lead our Company. I look forward to working with the Board, our
senior leadership team, and our passionate employee team to build
on Constantine's legacy, to support our customers, and ensure Neo
continues its multi-faceted growth strategy in high-growth markets
where we deliver technologically advanced and differentiated
products."
Mr. Suleman added, "Neo's continuing geographic expansion and
vertical integration up the rare earth value chain in Europe – as evidenced by our recent
acquisition of SGTec's magnet manufacturing facility in the UK and
our groundbreaking this summer on a new state-of-the-art plant in
Estonia to produce rare earth
magnets for electric vehicles – illustrate our intense focus on
moving quickly to capitalize on growth opportunities where we can
expand and advance our product offering and into new applications
and markets."
The Board of Directors, together with the Compensation and Human
Resources Committee and the Corporate Governance and Nominating
Committee, are committed to an effective succession planning
process and have worked closely with Neo's leadership team to
ensure a seamless transition as Mr. Suleman assumes his new
position as Chief Executive Officer following Mr. Karayannopoulos'
retirement. Mr. Suleman will continue in his current role of
Interim Chief Financial Officer while the Company completes its
recruitment process for a new Chief Financial Officer.
About Neo Performance
Materials
Neo manufactures the building blocks of many modern technologies
that enhance efficiency and sustainability. Neo's advanced
industrial materials - magnetic powders and magnets, specialty
chemicals, metals, and alloys - are critical to the performance of
many everyday products and emerging technologies. Neo's products
help to deliver the technologies of tomorrow to consumers today.
The business of Neo is organized along three segments: Magnequench,
Chemicals & Oxides and Rare Metals. Neo is headquartered in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada; with
corporate offices in Greenwood Village,
Colorado, United States;
Singapore; and Beijing, China. Neo has a global platform that
includes 9 manufacturing facilities located in China, the United
States, Germany,
Canada, Estonia, and Thailand, as well as one dedicated research
and development centre in Singapore. For more information, please visit
www.neomaterials.com.
Cautionary Statements Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain "forward-looking information"
within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.
Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and
statements can be identified by the use of words such
as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget",
"scheduled", "estimates",
"forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or
the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and
phrases or state that certain actions, events or results
"may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur"
or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Specific
forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are
not limited to, the following: the continued expansion of Neo's
operations, succession planning related matters, including the
search process for a new Chief Financial Officer. In making the
forward-looking information in this news release, the Company has
applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on its
current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information
currently available to the Company. Although the Company considers
these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently
available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the
forward-looking information in this release are subject to numerous
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in
such forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company
does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or
obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking information
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as required by law. For more information on Neo, investors
should review Neo's continuous disclosure filings that are
available under Neo's profile at www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Neo Performance Materials, Inc.