New appointments on UCB's Board of Directors

Brussels (Belgium), December 15, 2016 – 7:00 AM (CET) – Regulated Information – Inside Information: UCB SA/NV announces several changes in the composition of its Board of Directors. By the next Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held on April 27, 2017, Gerhard Mayr will have reached the statutory age limit and will step down as Director and Chairman of the Board of UCB SA/NV; he will retire from the Board after four successful years as UCB’s Chairman and more than ten years as UCB Board member. Evelyn du Monceau, currently Vice Chair, will succeed him and will become Chair of UCB's Board of Directors. Pierre Gurdjian, independent Director, will become Vice Chair. These appointments will be effective immediately after the Annual General Meeting of April 27, 2017. Additionally, on the agenda of this General Meeting, the mandate of Albrecht De Graeve will be proposed for renewal as independent Director for a term of four years and Roch Doliveux will be proposed as a new non-independent Board member for a mandate of four years.

Evelyn du Monceau has been UCB Board’s Vice Chair since 2006. She has an in-depth knowledge of UCB and of the strategic transformation the company went through over the last decade. She is also a Board member of Financière de Tubize SA and member of the Board of Solvay SA. As UCB’s Chair of the Board of Directors, Evelyn will become one of the few women chairing the board of a Belgian company listed on Euronext Brussels.

Pierre Gurdjian has been a UCB Board member since 2016. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Université Libre de Bruxelles and he teaches a graduate course in CEO Leadership at the Solvay Business School. He is also very active in the field of philanthropy and education. Previously he worked for nearly three decades at the management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company as a Senior Partner and, from 2005 to 2012, as head of the firm’s Belgian office.

Jean-Christophe Tellier, UCB’s CEO said: “UCB’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee want to express their sincere thanks to Gerhard Mayr for the key role he played as Board member and as UCB Chairman over the years. Gerhard has continuously stimulated healthy strategic discussions and has been a great support to UCB in its transformation journey. We also wish the greatest success to Evelyn du Monceau and Pierre Gurdjian in their new role”.

As mentioned, two other changes will be proposed for approval at the next Annual General Meeting of Shareholders:

Albrecht De Graeve’s independent Board member mandate will be proposed for a 4-year renewal. Albrecht De Grave has been an independent UCB Board member since 2010, and is chairing the Audit Committee of the Board of UCB since 2015. He is currently Chairman of the Bekaert Group, of Telenet and of SCR-Sibelco.

Roch Doliveux will be proposed as a new non-independent Board member. Roch was UCB’s prior CEO and was instrumental in initiating UCB’s patient-focused strategy and executing UCB’s biopharmaceutical transformation. He is currently Chairman of Vlerick Business School, Chairman of the GLG Institute, a community of accomplished executives exchanging experienced-based insight and Chairman of the Caring Entrepreneurship Fund.

Evelyn du Monceau who is to succeed Gerhard Mayr said: “Our deepest thanks and gratitude go to Gerhard Mayr for his inspiring chairmanship and his valuable advice to UCB’s Board for the last ten years. We look forward to the continued support of Albrecht De Graeve whose strategic business expertise has always been very appreciated by the Board. We are also very pleased to have Roch Doliveux proposed as a new board member. Roch will bring his unique experience and views to the Board enabling us to focus on continuously creating more value for patients and all stakeholders.”

For further information:

Corporate Communications
France Nivelle 
Global Communications, UCB
T +32.2.559.9178 france.nivelle@ucb.com

Laurent Schots
Media Relations, UCB 
T+32.2.559.92.64  Laurent.schots@ucb.com

Investor Relations
Antje Witte         
Investor Relations, UCB
T +32.2.559.94.14 antje.witte@ucb.com

Isabelle Ghellynck,
Investor Relations, UCB
T+32.2.559.9588, isabelle.ghellynck@ucb.com

About UCB
UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases in immunology and neurology. With more than 7500 people in approximately 40 countries, the company generated revenue of €3.9 billion in 2015. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB). Follow us on Twitter: @UCB_news

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