- Annual General Meeting (AGM) to take place on 28 April 2020 in Basel
- Albert M. Baehny proposed for re-election as Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Stable dividend of CHF 2.75 per share proposed
Basel, Switzerland, 20 March 2020 – Lonza today published its invitation to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2020. The event will take place on Tuesday, 28 April 2020 in Basel, Switzerland. As outlined in the letter that accompanies this news release and the AGM invitation, to consider the health and safety of our shareholders and employees, and in line with the applicable Swiss regulation, the AGM this year will be conducted solely by voting through the independent proxy, and without physical attendance of shareholders.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) invitation can be accessed on Lonza's Investor Relations website: Annual General Meeting 2020.
The Board of Directors proposes the re-election of Albert M. Baehny as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Patrick Aebischer (Vice Chairman), and Margot Scheltema have decided not to stand for re-election. Patrick Aebischer has been a member of the Board since 2008 and most recently held the role of Vice Chairman. Margot Scheltema has been a member of the Board since 2012. The Board would like to thank them both for their contributions to Lonza.
The Board of Directors is proposing to Lonza's AGM the election of two new Board members, Ms Dorothée Deuring and Dr Moncef Slaoui.
Dorothée Deuring is a professional Board Director and a Corporate Finance Adviser who brings more than 25 years of experience in the fields of manufacturing, biotech, pharmaceuticals and finance. Ms Deuring currently serves on the board of several companies including Axpo, Bilfinger and Elementis. Her Board memberships span the energy, chemical and biopharmaceutical sectors. She received her Master of Science in Chemistry from Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg in 1994. She later received her Master in Business Administration from INSEAD, Fontainebleau in 1996.
Dr Moncef Slaoui brings to Lonza extensive experience from his career with GlaxoSmithKline spanning nearly 30 years. In this time, he held a number of leadership positions, including member of the board of GSK Plc, Chairman Pharmaceutical R&D; Chairman, Global R&D for Vaccines & Oncology; and Chairman, Global Vaccines. Currently, Dr Slaoui is partner at Medicxi, a venture capital firm specializing in seed, Series A, early stage and late stage life sciences investments; he also sits on various biotechnology companies' boards. Dr Slaoui received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Immunology from Brussels University in 1983. He later received an accelerated Master of Business Administration from IMD, Switzerland in 1998.
The Board is further proposing to the AGM the re-election of all other Board members. Further motions include the election of the Nominations and Compensation Committee and the approval of the compensation of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee.
Lonza's Board of Directors is proposing a stable dividend for shareholders of CHF 2.75 per share for 2019. The proposed dividend for 2019 provides a pay-out ratio of 30.7% of Lonza's reported net profit for the period 2019. Subject to approval at the upcoming AGM, 50% of the dividend of CHF 2.75 per share for 2019 will be paid out of the capital contribution reserve and will therefore be free from Swiss withholding tax.
All details on the motions can be found in the invitation to the Annual General Meeting 2020.