Orascom Development Holding AG announces changes to its Board of Directors

Press Release

Orascom Development Holding AG announces changes to its Board of Directors

Altdorf, 13 April 2021 - Orascom Development Holding AG (ODH) announces that Ms. Barbara Heller, Mr. Amine Omar Tazi-Riffi and Mr. Eskandar Tooma will be proposed for election to its Board of Directors at the upcoming Annual General Meeting.

Mr. Adil Douiri and Mr. Marco Sieber, current members of the Board of Directors, have decided not to stand for re-election.

Mr. Naguib S. Sawiris, Vice Chairman of the Board, on behalf of the Chairman Samih Sawiris and the Board, stated: "We thank Adil and Marco for their valuable contributions to the Board for many years. Their leadership, authenticity and acuity will be missed."

Mr. Naguib Sawiris added, "With this transition, we are pleased to announce our proposed new board members, Amine, Barbara and Eskandar. We believe their extensive and diverse experience will elevate our strategy, market development and corporate governance capabilities."

The notice of the Annual General Meeting will be published in due course.

About Ms. Barbara Heller

Barbara Heller (Swiss citizen, resident in Switzerland, born in 1967) is Co-founder and Managing Director at SWIPRA Services since 2013. SWIPRA advises companies and their boards of directors in the areas of corporate governance, CSR and corporate communication and disclosure. Ms. Heller is also a member of the board of directors of Graubünder Kantonalbank, Switzerland, and member of its Strategy Committee, member of the Investment Committee of Transparenta Investment Foundation, Switzerland, Of Counsel at Lemongrass Communications, Switzerland, and Vice-Chairwoman of the Swiss CFO Forum, and chairing the jury of the Swiss CFO Award. Until 31 March 2021, she was a member of the board of directors of Bank Cler, Switzerland, Chairwoman of the bank's Audit Committee and member of its Risk Committee.

Ms. Heller was holding senior positions as a Managing Director at Bank Leu/Credit Suisse, Switzerland, between 1991 and 1997, leading the bank's corporate finance & capital markets department, and at Bank Vontobel, Switzerland, between 1997 and 2005 in corporate finance, private equity and capital markets, responsible for various international transactions. Between 2005 and 2012, she was Chief Financial Officer & Chief Risk Officer at Santhera Pharmaceuticals, a Swiss biopharmaceutical company. Between 2013 and 2015, Ms. Heller was also a member of the board of directors and a member of the Audit Committee and Investment Committee of the Visana Group, Switzerland.

Barbara Heller received a master's degree in economics and business administration, with an emphasis on financial economics, empirical research and banking & insurance from the University of Zurich.

About Mr. Amine Omar Tazi-Riffi

Amine Omar Tazi-Riffi (Swiss citizen, resident in Switzerland, born in 1970) is a former Senior Partner of McKinsey, based in the Geneva and Zurich offices. He is now an independent advisor, PE investor and board member.

During his nearly 25-year career at McKinsey, Amine Omar Tazi-Riffi served leading institutions and governments, both in Switzerland and in emerging economies (mainly in the Middle East, Africa and Central & Eastern Europe). He is the founder of the North & West Africa practice and then co-led the expansion on the continent. He also served as co-leader of the Global Energy & Mining, Infrastructure & Logistics, Telecom & High-Tech practices as well as regional leader for the Public & Social Sector practice in Europe, Middle East and Africa. He has extensive experience in the Travel & Hospitality sector both as a consultant and in the PE space.

Mr. Tazi-Riffi is now a senior advisor with GlobalSouth Partners, Advisory & Investments in Dubai and collaborates with PE platforms in the Middle East & Africa. He is the founder and Executive Chairman of Rolling Laser Solutions, Switzerland (2019-present). He also serves on the Board of Directors of Lonrho, UK/South Africa (2020-present), Togo Telecom (2021-present) and on the Advisory Board of FTI Finanzholding, Germany (2021-present).

Mr. Tazi-Riffi holds a BSc. and MSc. from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications; an MSc. from MIT in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science; and an MBA from INSEAD.

About Mr. Eskandar Tooma

Eskandar Tooma (Egyptian citizen, resident in Egypt, born in 1977) is a tenured professor of finance with the School of Business at the American University in Cairo. He has also held a visiting professorship position with the Imperial College's Business School in London, England. Mr. Tooma was a Senior Advisor to the Egyptian Capital Market Authority (2005-2007), as well as a member of a variety of committees including the EGX30 Index Committee (2006), Market Advancement Committee at the Egyptian Stock Exchange (2006), and a member of the Derivatives and Commodities Exchange Committee with the Ministry of Investments (2007) and a consultant to the Ministry of International Cooperation in order to document Egypt's Debt Swap Experience (2004). Mr. Tooma sat on the boards (as a non-executive member) of several EGX/LSE listed companies, including Telecom Egypt (2015-2017), Vodafone Egypt (2015-2019), Egyptian Resorts Company (2009-2019), Madinat Nasr for Housing and Development (2013-present) and the oversight board of the HSBC Egypt's money market fund (2015-present). Mr. Tooma was already a member of the Board of Directors of the Company from 2013 until 2016 and served as Chief Financial Officer of the Company on an ad interim basis from 2013 until 2016.

Eskandar Tooma obtained his bachelor's degree in business from the American University in Cairo and Adelphi University. He holds two master's degrees, the first in finance and the second in international economics from Adelphi and Brandeis Universities, respectively. He also holds a PhD in finance from Brandeis University.

About Orascom Development Holding (ODH):

ODH is a leading developer of fully integrated destinations that include hotels, private villas and apartments, leisure facilities such as golf courses, marinas and supporting infrastructure. ODH's diversified portfolio of destinations is spread over 7 jurisdictions (Egypt, UAE, Oman, Switzerland, Morocco, Montenegro, and United Kingdom), with primary focus on touristic destinations. ODH currently operates nine destinations: four in Egypt (El Gouna, Taba Heights, Makadi Heights and Byoum), The Cove in the United Arab Emirates, Jebel Sifah and Hawana Salalah in Oman, Luštica Bay in Montenegro, and Andermatt in Switzerland. The shares of ODH are listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. ODH recently launched O West, the latest addition to its portfolio and its first project in Cairo, Egypt, located in the Sixth of October City.

Contact for Investors:
Sara El Gawahergy
Head of Investor Relations & Strategic Projects Management
Tel: +202 246 18961
Tel: +41 418 74 17 11
Mob: +41 79 156 78 49
Email: ir@orascomdh.com

Contact for Media Relations:
Philippe Blangey
Partner
Dynamics Group AG
Tel: +41 432 68 32 35
Email: prb@dynamicsgroup.ch
 

Disclaimer and Cautionary Statement
The information contained in this e-mail, its attachment and in any link to our website indicated herein is not for use within any country or jurisdiction or by any persons where such use would constitute a violation of law. If this applies to you, you are not authorized to access or use any such information. Certain statements in this e-mail and the attached news release may be forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements that are predications of or indicate future events, trends, plans or objectives. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our targeted profit improvement, return on equity targets, expense reductions, pricing conditions, dividend policy and underwriting claims improvements. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause actual results and Orascom Development Holding's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements (or from past results). Factors such as (i) general economic conditions and competitive factors, particularly in our key markets; (ii) performance of financial markets; (iii) levels of interest rates and currency exchange rates; and (vii) changes in laws and regulations and in the policies of regulators may have a direct bearing on Orascom Development Holding's results of operations and on whether Orascom Development Holding will achieve its targets. Orascom Development Holding undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events, or circumstances or otherwise. It should further be noted that past performance is not a guide to future performance. Please also note that interim results are not necessarily indicative of the full-year results. Persons requiring advice should consult an independent adviser.