APPOINTMENTS TO THE BOARD OF THE ROYAL MINT

19 Mar 2004 03:40 PM

Ruth Kelly, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, today announced the appointment of Hugh Beevor as Chairman of the Board of the Royal Mint, and Robert Guy, Jan Smith and David Wertheim as Non-Executive Directors of the Mint. In order to maintain continuity on the Board the appointment periods have been staggered.

Ruth Kelly said:

"The appointees bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Board. I am sure they will make a valuable contribution and find the experience stimulating."

All the appointments were made following an advertising campaign and an open public appointments process, following the Code of Practice of the Office of the Commissioner of Public Appointments.

Notes to Editors

1. The Royal Mint is a Government Department, Trading Fund and Executive Agency of the Chancellor, who is Master of the Mint. The Financial Secretary has delegated responsibility for non-executive appointments at the Royal Mint.

2. Hugh Beevor worked in various posts at Blue Circle Industries until 1993, ultimately as a main board director, with a number of years in the international side of the business. He has more recently taken up a number of non-executive roles and has provided a substantial contribution as a member of the Treasury's Shareholder Panel on the Royal Mint. His experience includes business strategy, people management and corporate governance. He took up the position of Chairman at the Royal Mint on 1 March 2004 for a period of three years.

3. Robert Guy joins the Royal Mint after 26 years experience on the Board of NM Rothschild, with key responsibility for the Treasury Division which undertook the Bank's activities in the Money Markets, Foreign Exchange, Gold and Silver and Base Metals. He also has Non-Executive Director and Consultancy experience with Rothschild. His expertise is in the areas of analysis and strategy. Mr Guy was appointed for three years from 15 March 2004.

4. Jan Smith runs her own business specialising in business strategy, including brand, marketing and communications development, and sales strategies. She has worked for companies including RAC, First Direct and Mazda, and holds non-executive roles at HM Land Registry and the Disposal Services Agency. Jan Smith was reappointed to the Royal Mint board after serving four years as a Non-Executive Director. She has strong marketing experience and a number of previous non-executive director positions. Ms Smith was appointed for a further two years from 15 March 2004.

5. David Wertheim is the current managing director of Optima Management Services Ltd which provides strategic and restructuring advice to small and medium-sized businesses. He has previously worked for a number of companies, including the ex-ICI soda ash producer - Brunner Mond UK, the speciality chemicals firm Allied Signal Inc (now part of Honeywell Inc) and Sandoz (now Novartis Group). His period of appointment is three years from 15 March 2004.

6. The decision to run a public appointments process in 2004 was taken to ensure that the Non-Executive Directors of the Royal Mint were the best from the available field, and most appropriate for the challenges to the business going forward. The last appointments process for the Mint took place three years ago.

7. All appointees have declared that they have no conflict of interest in taking up this position.

8. The Chief Executive of the Royal Mint is Gerald Sheehan, who has been in post for two years. More information about the Mint can be found on their website www.royalmint.gov.uk, or from Good Relations on 029 2034 4888.