Starpharma completes chairman succession

Starpharma’s (ASX:SPL) long-serving chairman Peter Bartels has retired from his role and been replaced with chair-elect Rob Thomas.

Bartels has been non-executive chairman of Starpharma since 2003. He announced his decision to retire in November last year as part of a board succession plan.

Thomas joined the company the following month as non-executive director and chair-elect. He has had more than 35 years of experience in the financial services sector at Potter Partners (now UBS), County Natwest and Citigroup.

Thomas is currently a non-executive director in healthcare companies including Heartware International, Biotron (ASX:BIT) and REVA Medical (ASX:RVA). He was the former non-executive chairman of Heartware International.

In a statement announcing the change of guard, the Starpharma board said Bartels had played a major role in transforming the company into a business with multiple products near commercial launch.

“I have had the pleasure of working beside Peter over the last six months and I take over as chairman at a time when the fundamentals of the Starpharma business are strong,” Thomas commented.

Starpharma (ASX:SPL) shares were trading 1.67% higher at $0.61 as of around 1 pm on Monday.