FWIWEquus Appoints New Executive Officers6/7/2011 2:43:04 PM - Market Wire
Alessandro Benedetti Appointed as Executive Chairman; John Hardy Appointed as Chief Executive Officer
HOUSTON, TX, Jun 07, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX News Network) --
EquusTotal Return, Inc. (NYSE: EQS) ("Equus" or the "Fund") announced thatits Board of Directors has appointed Alessandro Benedetti as the Fund'sExecutive Chairman and John Hardy as the Fund's Chief ExecutiveOfficer. Previous to their appointments, Mr. Benedetti was anindependent member of the Fund's Board of Directors, and Mr. Hardy wasthe Fund's Executive Chairman.
Mr. Benedetti, age 49, is anItalian national with decades of business experience in a diverse rangeof industries including telecoms, agro-industrial engineering, mining,real estate, renewable and non-renewable energy and investmentcompanies. He is fully conversant with business conditions andoperating procedures in the world's key markets, especially Western andEastern Europe, Scandinavia, CIS, Africa, North America and the MiddleEast.
From 2002 onward, Mr. Benedetti began structuring theacquisition of a controlling interest in Italian telecom giant WINDTelecom, and he subsequently formed a consortium to close a EUR 17.2bnleveraged buyout in 2005, which at that time, was the largest deal ofits type in Europe.
Since December 2008, Mr. Benedetti has beena non-executive director of Versatile Systems Inc., a technologyconsulting company, which is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and theAIM market of the London Stock Exchange. Since August of 2010 he hasalso been a non-executive director of Cadogan Petroleum plc, which islisted on the London Stock Exchange.
Mr. Hardy, age 60, hasserved as the Fund's Executive Chairman since June 2010. He hasextensive experience in the insurance, finance and banking sectors, aswell as mergers and acquisitions. For the past 13 years he has alsobeen the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Versatile Systems Inc.
Commenting on the new appointments, Robert Knauss, non-ExecutiveChairman of the Fund, stated: "We are delighted with the appointmentsof Alessandro Benedetti as our Executive Chairman and John Hardy as ourChief Executive Officer. We believe that Mr. Benedetti's considerableinternational relationships and business experience will be asubstantial benefit to the Fund and its shareholders. Further, theappointment of Mr. Hardy as the Fund's CEO is an acknowledgement of thecontributions Mr. Hardy has provided and continues to provide the Fundin a senior executive capacity."