Smartrac announces changes to management board

The Dutch company Smartrac has announced changes in its management board. The supervisory board will propose the appointment of Gregory O’Hara as director A and member of the management board at the Smartrac general meeting of shareholders to be held at the end of October 2012. O’Hara will also be appointed chief executive officer and chairman of the management board.

Dr Christian Fischer will resign from his position as CEO and chairman of the management board effective September 3, 2012. He will, however, continue to serve as director A of Smartrac until December 31, 2012, and support O´Hara in a transition role until the end of 2012.

O’Hara is currently chairman of Certares International Bank, and most recently served as chief investment officer of JPMorgan Chase’s Special Investments Group. Prior to joining the private equity arm of JPMorgan’s One Equity Partners in 2005, he served as executive vice president of Worldspan and was a member of its board of directors. Prior to this, O’Hara was a management partner advising Citicorp Venture Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan; served as senior vice president of Sabre; and worked in various capacities for Perot Systems. He also serves on the boards of Travel Leaders Group and TV Guide Network. O’Hara holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Vanderbilt University.

O´Hara said: ‘I am extremely excited by the opportunity of joining Smartrac. The company’s reputation for the most innovative technology, along with unparalleled development and production capabilities, provides a tremendous foundation from which to build. I look forward to working with such a talented and dedicated team in continuing to deliver the best Smartrac product to our customers.’

Dr Christian Fischer joined Smartrac at the end of 2005 and has been a member of the management board since the incorporation of Smartrac NV in January 2006. He has held the position of CEO and chairman of the management board since July 1, 2007. During this time, the company has grown sales from 25 million euros in 2005 to some 250 million euros expected for 2012, becoming a leader in the RFID market as developer, manufacturer and supplier of transponders and inlays for a broad base of applications in all current frequency standards.

Dr Fischer said: ‘Smartrac is well on its way to recovering from the flood disaster in Thailand in 2011 and is making good progress in integrating all major acquisitions we executed in 2011/2012. Our Q2-2012 results have shown that the progress is also visible from a financial perspective and we are well on our way to being back on track.’

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