Company Announcements

For Immediate Release                                                                                                     20 November 2019

Genus plc
('Genus', or the 'Company')

Appointment of Chief Financial Officer

Genus plc (LSE: GNS), a leading global animal genetics company, is pleased to announce that Alison Henriksen has been appointed by the Board as Chief Financial Officer with effect from 13 January 2020.

Alison Henriksen has over 25 years of international experience in finance, operating across Europe, Australia, Asia, the US and South Africa. She has a proven track record of driving performance in public and privately held organisations, both business to business and business to consumer facing. 

Alison is currently the Chief Financial Officer of V. Group, a global leader in ship management and based in the UK.  Her past appointments include Finance Director, UK & Ireland and Finance Director, Australia at Compass Group plc, and Chief Financial Officer of Specialty Fashion Group Ltd, a former ASX listed company. She started her career at Ernst and Young in her native Australia and, after qualifying as a chartered accountant, spent nine years in their London practice, the majority of which was in Corporate Finance, supporting clients with M&A transactions.

Stephen Wilson, Chief Executive of Genus, commented on Alison's appointment;

"I am delighted to welcome Alison as Chief Financial Officer to Genus.  She brings deep commercial and financial expertise across a wide range of industries, as well as extensive M&A experience.  I am confident that Alison will help drive Genus in the next stage of our continued growth, and the implementation of our strategic vision."

This announcement is available on the Genus website www.genusplc.com

About Genus

Genus is a world-leading animal genetics company. Genus creates advances to animal breeding and genetic improvement by applying biotechnology and sells added value products for livestock farming and food producers. Its technology is applicable across livestock species and is currently commercialised by Genus in the dairy, beef and pork food production sectors.

Genus's worldwide sales are made in over seventy-five countries under the trademarks 'ABS' (dairy and beef cattle) and 'PIC' (pigs) and comprise semen, embryos and breeding animals with superior genetics to those animals currently in farms. Genus's customers' animals produce offspring with greater production efficiency, and quality, and use these to supply the global dairy and meat supply chains.

The Group's competitive edge has been created from the ownership and control of proprietary lines of breeding animals, the biotechnology used to improve them and its global supply chain, technical service and sales and distribution network.

With headquarters in Basingstoke, United Kingdom, Genus companies operate in over twenty-five countries on six continents, with research laboratories located in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Regulatory Notes

Details of payments to be made to Alison Henriksen will be disclosed in full in the Company's 2020 Directors' Remuneration Report.  Any such terms will be consistent with the Company's Directors' Remuneration Policy approved by shareholders at its Annual General Meeting on 14 November 2019.

This announcement is made in accordance with Listing Rule 9.6.11R.   There are no matters to be disclosed in connection with Listing Rule 9.6.13R (2) - (6).

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.  The person responsible for making this announcement on behalf of the Group is Dan Hartley (General Counsel and Company Secretary).

As previously announced, Janet Duane has been acting as the Company's interim Group Finance Director. Janet will revert to her role as Group Financial Controller upon Alison Henriksen's appointment and will support Alison's transition. Janet will cease to be a Person Discharging Managerial Responsibility with effect from 13 January 2020.