Media release – ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR                      

PolyPeptide appoints Juan-José Gonzalez as CEO and announces change of CFO

Baar, 3 April 2023 – PolyPeptide Group AG (SIX: PPGN), a focused global CDMO for peptide- and oligonucleotide-based active pharmaceutical ingredients, today announced the appointment of Juan-José Gonzalez as its new CEO, effective 12 April 2023. It also announces the appointment of Lalit Ahluwalia as CFO, effective 1 May 2023, following the resignation of Jan Fuhr Miller.

CEO appointment

Juan-José Gonzalez (born 1972, Peruvian/US citizen) is a global business leader with a track record in the healthcare sector, most recently as CEO of Ambu A/S, a leading and fast-growing company in innovative single-use endoscopy listed on the Nasdaq OMX Copenhagen. Prior to this, he spent over 15 years with Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in positions of increasing responsibilities. He has led complex businesses across the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Mr. Gonzalez is a member of the Board of Directors of Straumann Group, a multinational oral health company, serving on both, the Audit & Risk as well as the Human Resource & Compensation Committees. He began his career at Procter & Gamble as a regional sales manager in South America and later at McKinsey & Co as a member of the Global Turnaround and Private Equity Practice in the United States.

Mr. Gonzalez holds a Bachelor in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad de Lima, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master of Technology Management from the University of Columbia.

Dr. Peter Wilden, Executive Chairman of PolyPeptide, commented: “Mr. Gonzalez has the right set of skills, experience, and vision to lead our team. Throughout his career, he has been able to leverage and adapt his leadership skills across different healthcare sectors and geographies. With his track record and broad background, Mr. Gonzalez is well placed to strengthen PolyPeptide’s organization to meet the increasing needs of its customers.”

Juan-José Gonzalez, appointed CEO of PolyPeptide, commented: “Peptide- and oligonucleotide-based active pharmaceutical ingredients are two of the most attractive markets within the CDMO space with significant growth potential. I am delighted to be appointed CEO of PolyPeptide, a company with a strong market position and industry leading expertise which is enabling life changing treatments to the benefit of patients all around the world. I look forward to working with the leadership team and broader organization to capitalize on the many opportunities ahead.”     

Mr. Gonzalez will join PolyPeptide on 12 April 2023 to take over the executive role from Peter Wilden who, after an adequate introduction period, will refocus on his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group AG.

CFO transition

Following the resignation of PolyPeptide’s CFO, Jan Fuhr Miller, Lalit Ahluwalia will serve as CFO and member of the Executive Committee effective 1 May 2023, while the Board of Directors together with Mr. Gonzalez initiate the search for a permanent CFO. Mr. Ahluwalia has extensive experience as a financial leader. His last assignments were from 2010 to January 2023 with Ferring Pharmaceuticals in the United States, initially as CFO for the U.S. companies and later as Vice President of Special Projects globally. He has already begun working with PolyPeptide in February 2023 as the Chief of Staff of the Executive Chairman to support the transition following the resignation of the Group's previous CEO.

Jan Fuhr Miller will continue to be available until the end of June 2023 to ensure a smooth hand-over.

Dr. Peter Wilden, Executive Chairman of PolyPeptide, commented: “On behalf of the Board of Directors I wish to thank Mr. Fuhr Miller for building a solid finance and IT organization, and particularly for managing the process for the IPO in 2021. After joining PolyPeptide, Mr. Ahluwalia has reviewed critical management processes from which PolyPeptide will benefit in the months to come. He will support the incoming CEO and ensure a smooth and efficient transfer of the financial responsibilities to the permanent CFO once appointed.”     

Contact
Michael Stäheli
Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
michael.staeheli@polypeptide.com
T: +41 43 502 0580

About PolyPeptide
PolyPeptide Group AG and its consolidated subsidiaries (“PolyPeptide”) is a focused Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) for peptide- and oligonucleotide-based active pharmaceutical ingredients. By supporting its customers mainly in pharma and biotech, it contributes to the health of millions of patients across the world. PolyPeptide offers products and services from pre-clinical through to commercial stages, including generics. Its active custom projects pipeline reflects the opportunities from novel drug therapies in development to fight both widespread and rare diseases. Dating back to 1952, PolyPeptide today runs a global network of six cGMP-certified facilities in Europe, the U.S. and India. PolyPeptide’s shares (SIX: PPGN) are listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. For more information, please visit polypeptide.com.

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Disclaimer
This media release has been prepared by PolyPeptide Group AG and contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of management. Such statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied in this release. PolyPeptide Group AG is providing the information in this release as of this date and, except as required by applicable laws or regulations, does not undertake any obligation to update any statements contained in it as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.