Changes to Gemplus Management and Board
19 December, 2003
category: Contactless
LUXEMBOURG, December 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – Gemplus International
S.A. (Paris Euronext: Euroclear 5768) (NASDAQ: GEMP), the world’s leading
provider of smart card solutions, announces that it has adjusted its internal
organisation in order to adapt to evolving market conditions, and to better
serve its customers.
With immediate effect the “Financial and Security Services Business Unit”
is being run jointly by Philippe Combes and Jacques Seneca. They will
continue in their existing duties as, respectively, Executive Vice-President,
Operations, and Executive Vice-President, Business Development Group.
The former Executive Vice-President of the FSS Business Unit, Gilles
Michel, will leave the company to pursue other interests.
Philippe Combes will focus on volume products including Banking, Retail &
Transport and Conventional Cards. This will maximise the efficiency of the
personalisation component of the Banking and Retail offer, which is a key
driver of the growth of this area.
Jacques Seneca will focus on emerging markets including ID & Security and
Smart Card Interfaces. This will enable Gemplus to quickly capitalise this
high growth area while activating synergies with other developing activities
like WLAN.
The Board of Gemplus International S.A. also recently announced the
appointment of Werner Karl Koepf and Geoffrey D. Fink as Directors. They
replaced Kheng Nam Lee and Abel G. Halpern who have resigned. Mr. Koepf
currently holds various senior management positions at Marconi Corporation
plc London, UK and Mr. Fink is a London-based Principal in Texas Pacific
Group’s operating group. Further details are available at
http://www.gemplus.com/companyinfo/board/index.html
About Gemplus
Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 – GEM and NASDAQ:
GEMP) is the world’s leading player in the smart card industry in both
revenue and total shipments (source 2002: Gartner-Dataquest, Frost &
Sullivan, Datamonitor). Gemplus has the largest R&D team, unrivalled
experience, and an outstanding track record of technological innovation.
Gemplus helps its clients offer an exceptional range of portable and
personalised solutions that bring security and convenience to people’s lives.
These include mobile telecommunications, public telephony, banking, retail,
transport, identity, WLAN, pay-TV, e-government, access control, and a wealth
of other applications.
Gemplus’s revenue in 2002 was 787 million Euros.
http://www.gemplus.com
Some of the statements contained in this release constitute
forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or our
future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, levels of activities, performance, or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Actual
events or results may differ materially. Although we believe that the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we
cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those estimated by the forward-looking statements contained in this
release include, but are not limited to: trends in wireless communication and
mobile commerce markets; our ability to develop new technology, and the
effects of competing technologies developed and expected intense competition
generally in our main markets; profitability of our expansion strategy;
challenges to or loss of our intellectual property rights; our ability to
establish and maintain strategic relationships in our major businesses; our
ability to develop and take advantage of new software and services; and the
effect of future acquisitions and investments on our share price. Moreover,
neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and
completeness of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking
statements contained in this release speak only as of this release. We are
under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after this date
to conform such statements to actual results or to reflect the occurrence of
anticipated results.
Geoffrey D. Fink, Director
Geoffrey D. Fink has served as a director since October 2003. Mr. Fink is
a London-based Principal in Texas Pacific Group’s operating group, which he
joined in December 2000. From May 1998 to December 2000, Mr. Fink was a Vice
President and subsequently Senior Vice President with Security Capital Group.
Between August 1999 and December 2000, Mr. Fink was also Chief Operating
Officer, head of the Management Committee, and board member of Access Space.
In 1993 and from 1995 to 1998, Mr. Fink was a Consultant and then Engagement
Manager with McKinsey & Company in London and he was one of the founders of
McKinsey’s asset management practice. Prior to joining McKinsey, Mr. Fink
worked in the M&A departments of both Goldman Sachs in London and PaineWebber in New York. Mr. Fink received a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from
Yale University, a Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from Harvard
University and a Master focused on international business from the Fletcher
School of Law and Diplomacy.
Werner Karl Koepf, Director
Werner Karl Koepf has served as a director since October 2003. Mr. Koepf
currently holds various senior management positions at Marconi Corporation
plc London UK, in particular he serves as director and member of the audit,
nominations, remunerations and operations review committee. Mr. Koepf serves
as well as Chairman of the supervisory board and the nominations committee of
Marconi Communications GmbH, and as Chairman of the supervisory board of
Marconi Communications Holding GmbH. From 1993 to 2002, Mr. Koepf was
successively General Manager for Compaq Computer International GmbH, General
Manager and responsible for the operating budget for Compaq Europe, Middle
East and Africa (EMEA), and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman for Compaq
Computer, EMEA. From 1989 to 1993, Mr. Koepf was Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer for European Silicon Structures S.A. in Luxembourg. Previously, Mr.
Koepf held various management positions at Texas Instruments Inc., including
as General Manager of several divisions of the group, after he was
responsible for Europe Marketing at Siemens AG. Mr. Koepf received a Master
of Business Administration from Munich University and a Bachelor of
Electrical Engineering degree with honours from the Technical College in St.
Poelten in Austria. Mr. Koepf is an advisor for Techno Venture Management
GmbH, a venture capital company in Munich and Boston (Massachusetts). Mr.
Koepf is Chairman of the board of directors of PXP Software AG in Austria.
