Leadership change at Polygiene AB – increased focus on sales growth, profitability and organizational development

Publish date: 28 Dec 2017

The Board of Directors for Polygiene AB (publ) has appointed CFO Ulrika Björk as CEO for the company. Ms Björk succeeds Christian von Uthmann, who takes on the role as VP New Ventures & Strategies for Polygiene AB. The change will be effective as of today.

“As the international leader within odor control, Polygiene represents a new market category that starts to get high traction globally with renowned brands”, comments Richard Tooby, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “On top of having enlarged the organization during the past twelve months, we need to bring even more focus into converting major leads into sales to capture our growth momentum. By freeing up Christian from his CEO tasks to focus on sales growth and promoting Ulrika to CEO, to lead the company and drive financial control and organizational development, we believe we have an even better set-up to enable us to reach our financial targets”, Tooby adds.

Ulrika Björk has been the company’s CFO since May 2017. During her tenure, she has gained strong recognition within the organization and from the Board. Before joining Polygiene, Ms Björk worked as CFO for Hemmakväll AB, a leading Swedish candy and movie rental retailer. Prior to that, she has held various positions within finance and accounting at companies such as IKEA, Stena Line and Kemira Group.  

“I am very excited to take on this new responsibility. Polygiene has left its entrepreneurial phase as a consequence of its public listing on Nasdaq First North almost two years ago. There is structurally more to do to become a more professional organisation while reaching our financial targets. I am highly committed to contribute with my skills to build a high performing company”, says Ulrika Björk.

“Christian von Uthmann has been with Polygiene since its very start in 2006. His drive, energy and commitment has been instrumental for building the foundation of Polygiene. Without his determination Polygiene would not be as well-positioned as it is today”, says Richard Tooby. “In his new role, he will target to rapidly expand new and underpenetrated business segments, such as Lifestyle, Footwear and Home Design”, Richard Tooby adds.

“We see a substantial demand from the market that we need to capture in a more focused way. I am excited to contribute to rapidly building an enlarged Polygiene platform in Lifestyle, Footwear and Home Design. In addition, I will be supporting global growth initiatives generally”, says Christian von Uthmann.

This information is information that Polygiene AB (publ.) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Swedish Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at December 28, 2017, at 16.40 CET.