SES approves AGM Resolutions; Elects Esser
April 2, 2020
SES held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 2nd in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, in which all resolutions were approved by shareholders.
The meeting was held based on the rules set out in the Grand Ducal Regulation of March 20th with shareholders participating remotely by appointing SES designated proxyholders to represent them at the meeting and to carry out their voting instructions given ahead of the meeting. Compliance with voting instructions was verified by the bureau of the AGM.
The approved resolutions included the company’s 2019 financial accounts and the proposed dividend of €0.40 per A-share which will be paid to shareholders on April 23rd 2020.
Shareholders also approved a reduction in Board size from 14 to 12 Directors.
In addition, shareholders elected Béatrice de Clermont-Tonnerre and Peter van Bommel for an initial two-year mandate and elected Paul Konsbruck and Frank Esser for another three-year mandate. They also re-elected Ramu Potarazu, Kaj-Erik Relander and Anne-Catherine Ries for three years.
In the context of the reduction in Board size, shareholders also noted the resignations of Victor Casier, Hadelin de Liedekerke Beaufort, Marc Serres and François Tesch as Directors of SES. The AGM thanked those Directors for their contributions.
Consequently, the Board is now composed as follows: A-shareholders are represented by (all of them independent) Romain Bausch, Béatrice de Clermont-Tonnerre, Frank Esser, Tsega Gebreyes, Ramu Potarazu, Kaj-Erik Relander, Peter van Bommel, Katrin Wehr-Seiter; and B-shareholders are represented by Serge Allegrezza, Paul Konsbruck, Anne-Catherine Ries, Françoise Thoma.
At the AGM, Romain Bausch, Chairman of the SES Board and former President and CEO, informed the shareholders that he would not seek a new mandate as Chairman. Bausch will remain on the Board as an independent Director.
Accordingly, in its meeting following the AGM, the Board of Directors elected Frank Esser as Chairperson of the Board for a period of one year and re-elected both Tsega Gebreyes and Anne-Catherine Ries as Vice-Chairpersons of the Board, also for a period of one year.
“Having been at the helm of the company for 25 years, firstly as CEO and latterly as Chairman and with the company now entering an exciting period of transformation under Steve Collar’s leadership and with a newly invigorated and streamlined Board, I consider it to be the right time to pass the baton to a new Chair in the renewed Board,” said Bausch. “It has been a true privilege to serve SES in these different roles and I want to thank our shareholders for their continued support.”
“I am honoured to be elected Chairperson at this important and exciting time for our company with SES being in a great position for further development,” said Esser. “I am delighted to be joining the Board with several new Directors who will each bring strong competencies, complementing those of the rest of our Board colleagues. I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Romain and his contribution, commitment and on-going service to SES with his continued presence as a Director.”