Perth-based skins and burns treatment developer Clinical Cell Culture Ltd has announced that it has appointed Bob Atwill as its new chief executive officer and a director of the company.
Perth-based skins and burns treatment developer Clinical Cell Culture Ltd has announced that it has appointed Bob Atwill as its new chief executive officer and a director of the company.
Mr Atwill will be based in Canberra but will split his executive time between the company's operational headquarters in Cambridge, UK and Australia, where C3's investor base is located.
He assumes the position with immediate effect.
Mr Atwill has international experience in the pharmaceutical, medical device and medical services sectors. His experience includes commercialisation of innovative medical devices in international markets.
C3's chief financial officer Andrew Cannon, who was to become interim CEO as from June 1st pending the appointment of a permanent CEO, also joins the board.
Outgoing managing director Troels Jordansen resigns from the board with effect from 16 May.
The appointment comes after last month's announcement that Mr Jordansen would be stepping down from his position at the end of May, while Professor Fiona Wood would rejoin the board. UK-based non-executive director David Imperiali had also stepped down from the board.
In March, delays in securing regulatory approvals in the United States and Australia as well as slower than expected product sales prompted C3 to announce staff cuts and postponement of some R&D.
The move stemmed from a wide ranging review of the company's corporate and commercial strategies addressed a number of measures considered critical for C3's ongoing financial well being.
At 940 WST, shares in C3 were up 1 cent to 13.5 cents.
Below is the full announcement:
(C3, ASX: CCE) today announced that it has appointed Bob Atwill as its new Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Company.
C3's Chief Financial Officer Andrew Cannon also joins the Board. Mr Atwill assumes the position with immediate effect. He will be based in Canberra but will split his executive time between the Company's operational headquarters in Cambridge, UK and Australia, where C3's investor base is located.
Mr Atwill is an experienced corporate executive with broad international experience in the pharmaceutical, medical device and medical services sectors. His experience includes commercialisation of innovative medical devices in international markets.
C3 Chairman Dalton Gooding said the Board was delighted to have secured a CEO of the calibre and experience of Mr Atwill.
"Bob has extensive experience in our sector and in our markets. He will bring great leadership skills and strategy implementation capabilities that will help C3 to focus on its core challenge - building sales penetration in approved markets," said Mr Gooding.
"Andrew Cannon's appointment to the Board strengthens our financial management capability at the highest level in the Company and underlines our commitment to Cambridge as C3's operations headquarters."
British-born Mr Atwill was previously sales and marketing director of LSE-listed orthopaedic products manufacturer and supplier Corin Group PLC where he helped expand the business through organic growth, strategic partnerships and acquisitions.
During his time at Corin, the company's market capitalisation grew from GBP57m to GBP138m and turnover grew from GBP17m to GBP26m.
He has also worked in senior executive roles at GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Aventis, and was European Managing Director of Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. He has been in Australia since September 2005 and has consulted to listed biotech and biopharmaceutical companies on capital raisings and commercialisation strategies.
He has a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from the University of Bristol and an MBA from Ashridge Management College in the UK, one of the world's leading business schools. He has also participated in Executive/President programs in the United States at Yale and UCLA.
Mr Atwill said he looked forward to his new role and to working with the C3 Board and
management team.
"C3 is at an exciting stage of its development and I look forward to steering the Company through its next stage of commercialisation and achieving strong sales growth," he said.
"From my experience, I believe C3 has a unique portfolio of products that have outstanding commercial potential."
"Initial feedback from many international markets has been very positive. Our challenge now is to accelerate sales penetration and to convey to the capital markets why C3 should be supported."
Further to the announcement made on 11 April 2006, Mr Troels Jordansen resigns from the Board with effect from 16 May 2006.
