City round-up: Bodycote; Grafenia
Bodycote, the Macclesfield-based provider of heat treatment and specialist thermal processing services, has appointed Ben Fidler as chief financial officer designate and as a member of the board of Bodycote as of February 24, 2023. Ben will take up the role of chief financial officer on May 1, 2023, succeeding Dominique Yates who announced his intention to retire earlier this year.
Ben is currently the deputy chief financial officer of Rolls-Royce, a position he has held since January 2021. Ben has spent five years with Rolls-Royce, previously holding the positions of vice president of business performance and director of financial planning and analysis.
Prior to Rolls-Royce, Ben spent 20 years as an aerospace and defence equity research analyst, 18 of which were at Deutsche Bank. There he led a team which achieved consistent top rankings in external analyst surveys. Ben started his career as a strategy consultant at the LEK partnership. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford and holds a degree in Biochemistry.
Stephen Harris, group chief executive of Bodycote, welcomed Ben, saying: “His experience as a senior executive at a FTSE 100 company, as well as his in depth knowledge of our end markets, make him an excellent fit for Bodycote. He will be a great addition to the team and I look forward to working with him.
“We would also like to thank Dominique Yates. His contribution to Bodycote over the past six years has been invaluable. He will leave with our gratitude for the considerable effort he expended over this period. We wish him all the best for the future.”
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Manchester-based print group, Grafenia, has appointed Matthias Riechert to the board as a non-executive director with effect from October 31, 2022.
Matthias is a founder and director of P&R Investment Management, an investment advisory firm. Previously, Matthias worked in sales and trading at Citigroup Global Markets for nine years. He has an MBA from London Business School and Columbia Business School where he specialised in value investing.
P&R is acting as the mandated investment advisor to Axxion SA, the alternative investment manager of the P&R Real Value fund. Axxion SA currently holds 5,634,919 ordinary shares in Grafenia in relation to the P&R Real Value fund, makes its own investment decisions in that regard and is independent of Mr Riechert.
Jan Mohr, chairman of the company said: “I’m glad Matthias is joining our board. His successful investing experience in public holding companies will be very beneficial to Grafenia.”
Matthias Riechert said: “I am delighted to join the board of Grafenia and help the company become a serial acquirer and a permanent home for great businesses and entrepreneurs. I hope to add value for Grafenia’s team and shareholders by fostering a culture of trust, responsibility, lifelong learning and disciplined capital allocation. I look forward to many years of growth. ”
Gavin Cockerill, acting chief executive of the company said: “I’m very happy to have Matthias join our board. He brings invaluable experience and knowledge that will help us drive the next part of Grafenia’s journey. I’m excited and looking forward to working together.”
Matthias Siegfried Riechert, 49, has held the following directorships and/or partnerships in the past five years: Maxigendance Limited; P&R Investment Management Limited; Polleit & Riechert Investment Management LLP.
