Company Announcements

SOPHEON PLC

("Sopheon" or the "Company")

Directorate Change

Gregory Coticchia appointed as Chief Executive Officer

Sopheon, an international global leader in enterprise innovation management solutions, is pleased to announce that Gregory Coticchia has today joined the Board in the role of Chief Executive Officer. 

Since 12 October 2020 Greg, who is based in the USA, has served as President of Sopheon responsible for the day to day operations, with a focus on accelerating the Company's SaaS transition and to spearhead cloud development plans.

Prior to his appointment Greg worked as a consultant to the Company. Greg has deep experience in cloud software products and services, holding executive roles in several organizations ranging from start-ups to $1bn revenue businesses, where he has been responsible for driving both organic and acquisition-led growth. This includes stints serving as CEO, President or COO, as well as marketing leadership roles. He has launched several new companies, either as lead entrepreneur or through incubation. Alongside his leadership and business credentials, he has been involved or responsible for the launch of over 100 products and solutions and is a recognized authority within the fields of product management and product development. Underlining his achievements, prior to joining Sopheon, Greg was asked to establish the Master's Program in Product Management at Carnegie Mellon University, and then served as the executive director of the program while continuing to provide business coaching and consulting to a variety of corporate organizations.

Greg Coticchia commented: "Digital transformation continues to accelerate, and innovation is an urgent imperative for virtually every company. Sopheon has a large opportunity to build off the very impressive client base and grow through the expansion of new cloud solutions.  I am both honoured and excited to lead Sopheon in this next phase of growth."

As part of this planned transition strategy, Andy Michuda has become Executive Chairman of Sopheon's Board of Directors. Andy will focus on partnerships and acquisitions, in addition to his governance responsibilities. Barry Mence, who has been Chairman of the Board since the Company's inception, will serve as a non-executive director of Sopheon and remain a major shareholder in the Company.

Andy Michuda commented: "On behalf of the Sopheon Board, I would like to officially give a warm welcome to Greg as our new Chief Executive Officer. Greg's experience and track record in software and innovation are invaluable. He has already had a significant impact on the business in his short tenure as President. With Greg as our Chief Executive, I believe we are well placed to continue to deliver our SaaS transition, and to access a number of major growth opportunities in the future. I look forward to working alongside Greg to deliver value for Sopheon shareholders over the coming years."

The following information regarding the appointment of Gregory Michael Coticchia (aged 60) is required to be disclosed under Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

As at the date of this announcement Greg holds no ordinary shares in the Company and 20,000 options over ordinary shares.

There are no further disclosures to be made under Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

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About Sopheon.  Sopheon (LSE: SPE) partners with customers to provide complete enterprise innovation management  solutions including software, expertise, and best practices, that enable them to achieve exceptional long-term revenue growth and profitability. Sopheon's Accolade solution provides unique, fully-integrated coverage for the entire innovation management and new product development lifecycle, including strategic innovation planning, roadmapping, idea and concept development, process and project management, portfolio management and resource planning. Sopheon's solutions have been implemented by over 200 customers with over 60,000 users in over 50 countries. Sopheon is listed on AIM, operated by the London Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit  www.sopheon.com.