Andrew Gibson stepping down as CEO gategroup; Board appoints Xavier Rossinyol as new CEO gategroup

Andrew Gibson stepping down as CEO gategroup; Board appoints Xavier Rossinyol as new CEO gategroup

• Andrew Gibson, CEO and Member of the Board will step down, effective March 31, 2015, to undertake new professional opportunities in North America
• The Board of Directors of gategroup appoints Xavier Rossinyol, currently COO EMEA and Asia at Dufry with close to 20 years of experience in the airline service industry as his successor
• gategroup confirms its guidance for 2014
  

ZURICH, January 14, 2015 ̶ After a decade serving gategroup in senior management positions, Andrew Gibson has decided to step down as CEO and member of the Board of Directors of gategroup to undertake professional opportunities in North America. The Board of Directors of gategroup has appointed Xavier Rossinyol as the new Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2015.

Andrew Gibson, who joined gategroup in 2004, has served as the Group's Chief Executive Officer since 2011. During his tenure as CEO, he led a range of fundamental operating, commercial and strategic initiatives to substantially strengthen gategroup's global portfolio of businesses. This included, for example, the formation of the Product and Supply Chain Solutions Division, Gate Retail Onboard, and the new Emerging Markets business. He also led the company through the European business restructuring, reshaped the activities undertaken at the corporate center, and strengthened other key global functions such as procurement and IT to improve the effectiveness of the global organization and deliver material cost savings.

Andreas Schmid, Chairman of the Board of Directors said: "Andrew has led the Company through a challenging macro-economic climate, creating a strong platform and clear path forward for the Company to achieve its strategic objectives. The Board of Directors thanks Andrew for the substantial contributions that he has made during his tenure as CEO."

Andrew Gibson will be succeeded as CEO by Xavier Rossinyol, a 44 year old Spanish citizen based in Switzerland, who has close to twenty years of experience in the airline service industry. Since 2012, Rossinyol has served as Dufry's Chief Operating Officer EMEA and Asia and prior to this as Dufry's CFO from 2004 to 2012. Dufry is a publicly traded company on the SIX and is a leading global travel retailer operating in 60 countries with 21,500 employees worldwide. During his tenure at Dufry, Rossinyol, through strategic acquisitions and focus on regional business delivery, helped transform Dufry into a true global retailer. From 1995 to 2004, he worked for Spanish based Grupo Áreas in various management positions with increasing responsibility in Auditing, Controlling and Business Development. Rossinyol has a BBA and MBA in International Management and Finance from ESADE and a Master in Business Law from Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona.

Andreas Schmid, Chairman of the Board, said: "Xavier Rossinyol brings significant professional experience as CFO and COO of Dufry, and in various other management positions within the airline sector. His proven international track record of strategic thinking, strong leadership and excellence in execution give him a solid foundation to build upon and enhance gategroup's growth and performance in a sustainable manner."

As previously communicated, the 2014 Full Year Results will be published on March 12, 2015. As announced on the occasion of the Q3 results, gategroup confirms its 2014 full year guidance.

Invitation to analysts and investors

gategroup would like to invite analysts and investors to participate in a telephone conference call at 14:30 CET on Wednesday, January 14, 2015.

To join via teleconference, call the dial-in number approximately 15 minutes before the start time. Once dialed in, please follow the instructions given over the phone.

Direct dial-in numbers:

Switzerland (toll): [phone]

United Kingdom (toll): [phone]

United States (toll-free): [phone]

Contacts

For media Katherine Kocher [e-mail] [phone]

For investors/analysts Dagmara Robinson [e-mail] [phone]

Overview of gategroup

gategroup is the leading independent global provider of products, services and solutions related to a passenger's onboard experience. gategroup comprises the following brands: deSter, eGate Solutions, Gate Aviation, Gate Gourmet, Gate Retail Onboard, Gate Safe, Harmony, Performa, Pourshins and Supplair.

Forward-Looking Statements

This publication contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. The words "believe", "anticipate", "plan", "expect", "project", "estimate", "predict", "intend", "target", "assume", "may", "will", "could" and similar expression are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements are made on the basis of assumptions and expectations that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this publication but may prove to be erroneous and are subject to a variety of significant uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Among these factors are changes in overall economic conditions, changes in demand for our products, changes in the demand for, or price of, oil, risk of terrorism, war, geopolitical or other exogenous shocks to the airline sector, risks of increased competition, manufacturing and product development risks, loss of key customers, changes in government regulations, foreign and domestic political and legislative risks, risks associated with foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates and controls, strikes, embargoes, weather-related risks and other risks and uncertainties. We therefore caution investors and prospective investors against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to update the reasons for which actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Press Release (PDF)

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