Announcement from Skillcapital LLP regarding the selection of candidates for non-executive directors of the post-composition board of Glitnir hf.
Skillcapital LLP (“Skillcapital”), working with the board selection committee (the “Board Selection Committee”) established by the Winding-up Board (the “Winding-up Board”) with the agreement of the Informal Creditors Committee, has identified nominees for the role of non-executive directors, as part of the planning for a potential composition proposal, which would see Glitnir hf. (“Glitnir”) exit the winding-up process.
These nominated candidates for non-executive directors, as well as the previously announced nominated chairman candidate, Jan Kvarnström, were identified after a comprehensive search process conducted by Skillcapital, an international search firm, on behalf of the Board Selection Committee, which was established to select the most competent and qualified candidates for the board of directors for Glitnir post-composition. The nominees are Mr. Mike Wheeler, UK; Mr. Steen Parsholt, Denmark; Mr. Tom Gröndahl, Norway, and Ms. Steinunn Gudbjartsdóttir, Iceland.
The Board Selection Committee, formed with backing of 70% of the creditors, considered more than 100 candidates, drawn both from Skillcapital’s international candidate identification process as well as from creditors, who were given the opportunity to nominate potential candidates. The objective of the Committee was to identify and select nominees with relevant expertise and experience to maximise future value creation opportunities for Glitnir.
Of those identified as potential non-executive director candidates, 24 were interviewed by the Board Selection Committee and four were selected in consideration of their fit with the selection criteria. The Board Selection Committee will propose these nominees to sit, together with Mr. Kvarnström, as the board of directors of Glitnir post-composition.
This selection criteria took into account the need for board members to complement the expertise of the executive team by demonstrating a high degree of expertise in the following key areas: restructuring, real estate portfolio management, Icelandic law, and financial institution M&A. A track record of value creation in an investor-led environment, international experience, a strong analytical mind-set, strong and effective communication and interpersonal skills and time availability were also key criteria. Given the geographical distribution of Glitnir‘s assets, significant professional experience in the Nordics and Northern Europe was also sought.
If a composition proposal is approved by the requisite majority of Glitnir’s creditors, the proposed members of a proposed board of directors would be nominated at a shareholders’ meeting held at a later date. The board of directors would then be constituted and play a key role in the preservation and return of value to the creditors.
Pending composition and a shareholders meeting, the nominees have been asked to serve as advisors to the WuB, thus having opportunity to gain a thorough knowledge of the Glitnir estate and conditions ahead of composition.
Issued by Skillcapital LLP
Andrew Priest, Partner
Appendix
The nominated non-executive directors are:
Mike Wheeler:
Mr. Wheeler has held senior roles in businesses specialising in restructuring, including serving as the Global Managing Partner Financial Advisory Services and Member of KPMG’s international executive board from 2001 to 2005. His career at KPMG spans twenty years, which also includes serving as Global Chairman Restructuring, and Head of UK Restructuring.
Since retiring from KPMG in 2005, he has held various non-executive memberships, including Non-executive of Chairman Close Brothers Corporate Finance.
Mr. Wheeler is currently serving as a Non-executive Director and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee at the UK Department of Health. He is also the current Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee at Dubai Holding, a Dubai based global investment holding company. Since 2011, Mr. Wheeler has served as a Non-executive Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee at Citadel Securities Europe, a subsidiary of a US based global hedge fund.
Steen Parsholt:
Mr. Parsholt has held senior roles in Nordic banks specialising in financial institution wind down. Finansiel Stabilitet A/S, the state authority established to handle failed Danish banks, since 2010 has appointed Mr. Parsholt to serve as the CEO of Finansieringsselskabet in 2010 and CEO of Eik Bank, Danmark. Recently he completed serving as the CEO of Max Bank A/S of 2011.
Mr. Parsholt previously served as the Interim Managing Director at ISS Group from 2005 to 2006. Mr. Parsholt was formerly the Chairman and CEO of Aon Nordic Region from 2003 to 2005. He served as the Managing Board of NCM (now Atradius) from 1996 to 2002, most recently as Chairman. He has also served in senior positions at Union Bank of Switzerland, Hafnia Holding and Hafnia Merchant Bank, Citibank and Citicorp Investment Bank, Copenhagen Handelsbank and Nordic-American Bank, and Danske Bank and Scandinavian Bank.
Mr. Parsholt is currently holding several board level memberships, including Chairman of Equinox Global, Member of the Supervisory Board of Unison Forsikring, Member of the Supervisory board of Altius Invest A/S, Member of the Supervisory board of Unwire Aps and Unwire Holding Aps, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SFK A/S, and Chairman of the Advisory Board for Aon Denmark A/S.
Tom Grøndahl:
Mr. Grøndahl has held several senior positions in Nordic and international banks specializing in financial institution Mergers and Acquisitions and restructurings.
From 1987 to 2008, Mr. Grøndahl held senior roles at DnB, including Deputy CEO, CFO, Executive Vice President and Company Secretary.
From 1975 to 1987 Mr. Grøndahl held several senior positions within Citibank, including Managing Director Citibank AS, Vice President Citibank Representative Office Oslo, and Vice President London and New York.
Mr. Grøndahl has held several board memberships, including Vice Chairman Vital, Chairman Doorstep, Vice Chairman The Norwegian Banks’ Guarantee Fund, Chairman Scandinavian Banking Partners Holding, Non-Executive Director Norwegian - Swedish Chamber of Commerce, Non-Executive Director DnB NOR Kapitalforvaltning, Non-Executive Director Scandinavian Bank Group, Non-Executive Director Eksportfinans, and Non-Executive Director The Research Institute for Business Studies.
Mr. Grøndahl is currently serving as the Chairman of the Norwegian Securities Brokers Association, and as Non-executive Director of Ocean Yield AS.
Steinunn Guðbjartsdóttir:
Ms Guðbjartsdóttir has served in senior legal positions specializing in Icelandic commercial and bankruptcy law. In 2008, Ms Guðbjartsdóttir was appointed to oversee the insolvency proceedings of Glitnir as the ‘Moratorium Appointee’ and in 2009 she was appointed by the Icelandic District Court to oversee the insolvency proceedings of Glitnir as the Chairman of the Winding-up Board.
Ms Guðbjartsdóttir is currently serving as a Partner at Holm & Partners, a law firm she established in 1995. From 2007 to 2010 she served as Vice-Judge in the Labour Court. From 2006 to 2010 she served as the Chairman and a member of the Appeals Board on health and pollution prevention. From 1997 to 2000 Ms Guðbjartsdóttir was the Vice Board member of the Appeals Board on access to information. From 1996 to 2004 Ms Guðbjartsdóttir served as a Board member of the Association of Icelandic lawyers. Ms Guðbjartsdóttir is also a lecturer in Bankruptcy law at the University of Reykjavík.
Ms Guðbjartsdóttir received a Cand Juris from the University of Iceland in 1988. She was appointed Attorney of the District Court in 1991, and subsequently Attorney of the Supreme Court in 2004
Skillcapital LLP
Skillcapital is a pan-European executive search firm focused on the needs of the private equity industry and other control stake financial investors. Founded in 1998, Skillcapital operates from offices in London, Paris and Munich.
