Sigma’s new ceo optimistic
June 17, 2010
THE newly appointed chief
executive of Sigma Pharmaceuticals
says he’s confident that the
business can be turned around.
Mark Hooper was yesterday
named by the company’s board as
the successor to Elmo de Alwis (PD
breaking news) but he won’t take
up his new role until September.
The appointment was welcomed
by investors who boosted Sigma’s
share price by about 3% to 49.5c -
which is still well below the
“indicative and non-binding” 60c
takeover offer from South African
group Aspen Pharmacare.
Hooper, who’s been chief
financial officer of PaperlinX for just
under two years but has also
worked previously at Sigma as well
as at Symbion, described the Aspen
bid as “opportunistic”, according to
today’s Australian.
“I’m very positive the core
business...can and should be doing
better,” he said.
Sigma is facing a possibly stormy
annual general meeting next week,
with shareholders suffering under a
share price which dived more than
60% after the company reported a
$389m loss due to a write-off of
goodwill in its generics business.
Since then long-serving ceo de
Alwis has resigned, along with
chairman John Stocker, nonexecutive
director Doug Curlewis
and chief financial officer Mark
Smith.
Stocker said that the new ceo
“will be a critical element in
Sigma’s next phase of development
in conjunction with the board
headed by new Chairman, Brian
Jamieson, who takes over at the
forthcoming AGM”.
Between 2001 and 2006 Hooper
was CFO at Sigma where he was
responsible for accounting, taxation
and treasury related financial
activities plus legal affairs, investor
relations and company secretarial
functions.
“We have recruited a ceo who will
hit the ground running, with a deep
knowledge of the Company and the
industry,” Stocker said.
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