Philips (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced that its Supervisory Board will propose the appointments of Mrs. Herna Verhagen and Mr. Sanjay Poonen as new members of the Supervisory Board at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM), which will be held on May 10, 2022.
Furthermore, Dr. Paul Stoffels and Dr. Marc Harrison, whose first terms expire in 2022, will be proposed for re-appointment as members of the Supervisory Board. Mrs. Neelam Dhawan, who joined Philips’ Supervisory Board in 2012, will retire from the Board after her third consecutive term, effective upon closing of the 2022 AGM.
“We are very pleased to nominate Mrs. Herna Verhagen and Mr. Sanjay Poonen as new members of Philips’ Supervisory Board, supporting the company to deliver on its purpose of improving people’s health and well-being through innovation,” said Feike Sijbesma, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Royal Philips. “With her proven track record in driving a customer-first company culture and a background in e-commerce logistics, Mrs. Verhagen will bring valued and new perspectives to the Supervisory Board, while Mr. Poonen’s extensive experience in enterprise IT will further strengthen the Supervisory Board’s digital competencies.”
“We are also very pleased that Dr. Paul Stoffels, the current Vice Chair, and Dr. Marc Harrison remain available as members of the Board,” added Mr. Sijbesma. “Their expertise and experience in healthcare innovation is extremely valuable as Philips aims to support the transformation of healthcare with new health technology solutions along the health continuum.”
“On behalf of the Executive Committee and the Supervisory Board, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Neelam Dhawan for her long-term counsel and support since 2012,” said Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips. “Her in-depth knowledge of the IT industry, including research, software engineering, and services has been indispensable during Philips’ transformation into a health technology leader. We look forward to continue to grow Philips, supported by a diverse and experienced Supervisory Board, aiming to support consumers to lead a healthy life and our healthcare customers achieve the Quadruple Aim of better health outcomes, improved patient and staff experiences, and lower cost of care.”
Mrs. Verhagen (Dutch, 1966) has been CEO and Chair of the Board of Management of PostNL since 2012. Under her leadership, PostNL executed a strategic transformation from a mail delivery company into a growing postal and e-commerce logistic solutions provider. Prior to her role as CEO, Mrs. Verhagen served as a member of the Management Board of PostNL, and was Managing Director Parcels and International PostNL.
Mr. Poonen (American, 1969) has held various executive leadership positions in the software industry, including most recently as Chief Operating Officer for cloud computing company VMware. In this role he was responsible for all business functions, including sales, services, support, marketing and alliances including strategic agreements with Amazon, Microsoft and Google. Prior to VMware, he was President at SAP, where he led analytics, data management and vertical industry solutions.
Subject to AGM approval, Mrs. Verhagen and Mr. Poonen will join a diverse and experienced Supervisory Board, consisting of members from Europe, North America and Asia with wide-ranging business experiences, including in the medical technology, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, IT, engineering and consumer goods industries. For more information about Philips’ Supervisory Board, please follow this link.