Thursday, 18 March 2010
Graeme Milne; Chairman of New Zealand Pharmaceuticals Ltd (NZP) today confirmed the appointment of Andy Lewis to the role of Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Lewis will report to the Board of Directors and will be responsible for the companies three operating divisions; NZP Ltd, Just The Berries Ltd and Dextra Laboratories (UK) Ltd. Mr Milne commented that the Board had accepted the recommendation of former Managing Director Dr. Richard Garland to appoint Mr. Lewis, who has been transitioning into the leadership role as part of the company's succession planning process.
Mr. Milne added that the board were very confident in Andy's ability to lead the company through its next stage of growth and development.
Mr. Lewis who has been General Manager of NZP since April 2005, also fulfils a Director's role for NZP's blackcurrant extracts business Just the Berries. In addition, he led the acquisition in September 2009 of NZP's UK based carbohydrate chemistry company Dextra, and has since then held a role as Dextra's Executive Director. Mr. Lewis has previously held general management positions with a number of manufacturing companies operating within the Asia-Pacific region, as well as leading business mergers & transitions. He holds an Engineering Degree, and an MBA from Massey University and is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors.
Mr. Lewis commented that "he felt both humbled and excited by the opportunity to lead such a unique group of New Zealand owned science companies on the global marketplace." He added that "the company's continued growth would be driven from a position as market leader in niche animal by-products such as bile acids & derivatives, together with a growing range of new frontier carbohydrate technologies which its staff and alliance partners continue to bring to the world stage."
Dr. Garland who plans to reduce his working hours over the coming period, will stay on with the company as Executive Director. He commented that "the decision has been driven by my wish to take a further step towards my retirement and the confidence of myself and all of the Directors that after five years as General Manager, Andy is now well positioned to lead the company."
11 March 2010
Dextra will be exhibiting at the 25th International Carbohydrate Symposium at the Makuhari Messe International Convention Complex in Japan, 2nd to 6th August 2010. Come and discuss your synthesis projects requirements!
Dextra, in association with its parent Company, New Zealand Pharmaceuticals Ltd, will occupy booth number 1141 at Informex 2010 in San Francisco, on February 16 -19. Key marketing targets include custom manufacturing of API starting materials and APIs (with DMFs) with specialisation in carbohydrate and bile acid derivatives; pre-clinical and clinical materials with appropriate documentation; and analytical services. Dextra also offer a wide range of carbohydrates derivatives through its catalogue sales. Dextra will release its updated and reformatted catalogue at Informex.