Kodak Alaris Announces Appointments to Board of Directors and Key Executive Appointments; including CMO and General Counsel
Technology marketer James Soames appointed Chief Marketing Officer John O’Reilly named General Counsel
London, U.K. – June 23, 2014 – Kodak Alaris Holdings Limited today announced that Brian Larcombe, Patrick De Smedt and Steve Webster are named as non-executive directors of the Board of Kodak Alaris Holdings Limited. Since the company’s separation from Eastman Kodak Company in Sept. 2013 it has continued to further its growth and expansion by adding key executive team members. James Soames, most recently with Motorola Mobility, is named the company’s first Chief Marketing Officer, responsible for Global Brand, Marketing, PR and Communications, while John O’Reilly is appointed General Counsel and Company Secretary, managing the legal function within Kodak Alaris.
“As we continue to drive Kodak Alaris’ transformation, these key appointments will be critical to the company’s success,” said Ralf Gerbershagen, CEO Kodak Alaris Holdings Limited. “The depth of experience of our three new non-executive board members will further strengthen the strategic business profile of our board. James Soames is an experienced media and technology marketer with a powerful mix of energy, ideas, customer focus, creative flair and solid commercial involvement. John O’Reilly, as our new corporate General Counsel, brings considerable experience with legal, compliance, risk and business issues within large international corporate enterprises. With these appointments, I’m excited to introduce a new sense of dynamism and experience into our brand, marketing, legal and board capabilities.”
Non-Executive Directors
Brian Larcombe – Brian’s executive career was largely with 3i, a leading international private equity investor, with about $20b of owned and managed assets. He headed its main investment business, became CFO in 1992 and after a successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange, was appointed CEO in 1997. He retired from 3i in 2004 and has since sat on the boards of many private and public companies and served on various business and educational councils. Brian is currently the senior independent director of Smith & Nephew (global medical devices), Gategroup (airline catering and other services), and Incisive Media (publishing). He is also a partner in a private equity business in India which invests in fast growing private companies tied to the growth in India’s consumer spend.
Patrick De Smedt – Patrick’s career includes 24 years with Microsoft during which time he founded the Benelux subsidiaries, led the development of its Western European business and served as Chairman of Microsoft for Europe, Middle East and Africa. After leaving Microsoft in 2006, Patrick served on the boards of a number of European public and private companies. He is currently a non-executive director of Victrex plc; Senior Independent Director of Morgan Sindall Group plc and Anite plc; a non-executive director of NextInto Germany and, an investor in several European technology companies. Patrick received a Commercial Engineering degree from the University of Louvain, Belgium.
Steve Webster – Steve is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. He is currently a non-executive director of Aventas Group, an internationally diversified industrial manufacturing business headquartered in Ireland where he is a member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees, and a non executive director of Aqualisa Group, a leading shower designer and manufacturer in the UK where he is chairman of the audit committee. Steve has held a number of other non-executive appointments and was until recently a consulting member of the Gerson Lehrman Group Research Council. He was Chief Financial Officer for more than 15 years with Wolseley plc, a leading building materials distributor and a FTSE 100 company based in the UK with operations in 25 countries. Prior to joining Wolseley, he was a partner for more than eight years at Price Waterhouse.
Chief Marketing Officer
James Soames – Prior to joining Kodak Alaris, James held international leadership positions, including Marketing Director, UK & Ireland and Director of Marketing Operations for Europe Middle East and Africa at Motorola Mobility, a Google owned company. He has worked with a range of iconic brands including Sky, BT, 118 and Motorola, and was instrumental in the launch of transformative technology brands including TiVo, Sky+, Sky Broadband, BT Vision and most recently Motorola’s Moto X, Moto G and Moto E smartphones. James earned a BA (Honors) in Retail Marketing from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1992. His position is effective June 23 and he will be based at the UK headquarters in Hemel Hempstead.
General Counsel
John O’Reilly – John has been Assistant General Counsel EMEA at Parker Hannifin since 2007, responsible for legal, company secretarial, compliance, mergers and acquisitions and real estate. Prior to that, John held an international legal role at Rolls-Royce plc and six years in private practice in the UK as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer. As a member of the Law Society and a law graduate of the University of Manchester, he is a qualified solicitor. His position is effective in September. He will be on the executive committee and based at the UK headquarters in Hemel Hempstead.