VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Aug. 4, 2015) - Solegear Bioplastic Technologies Inc. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:SGB) announced today that Gary Clifford, CA, CPA will be joining its management team as Executive Vice-President, taking responsibility for Corporate Development and Finance as CFO. In addition, board director Michael Thomson will also serve as the Company's Corporate Secretary. Mr. Thomson is the President of Independent Capital Partners Inc., a corporate finance consulting firm and is a member of the Listings Advisory Committee (Calgary) for the TSX Venture Exchange and a former lawyer who was engaged in private practice specializing in corporate law and securities transactions. Dan Holmes, Solegear's part-time CFO will be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.
Gary Clifford has served as Managing Director, Pragmus Capital since 2005. His previous transactions have included building and successfully exiting technology companies, company transformation, financing and merger and acquisition activities. He is a Chartered Accountant, holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto and is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Mr. Clifford is an existing shareholder of the Company and owns 709,051 common shares.
"Gary joins a strong team including our CEO Paul Antoniadis, Dr. Michael Labonté, our Chief Technology Officer and our VP of Business Development, Noel Harvey. We have put into place the building blocks for our next level of growth. This exceptionally experienced and talented management team will help to ensure that we achieve our goals," said Salil Munjal, Chairman of Solegear. "Gary's purchase of the Company's stock is a strong indication of his commitment to grow future value. I also want to thank Dan for his contributions and for his assistance during the transition. We wish him well in his next endeavors."
Paul Antoniadis, Solegear's CEO, brings a wealth of senior operational experience to his role at the company. Paul is a former CEO of Best Buy Europe, a joint venture between U.S.-based Best Buy and FTSE 100 The Carphone Warehouse. Prior to serving as CEO of Best Buy Europe, Paul led Best Buy's international expansion as President of China and SVP of International Operations in China, Mexico and Turkey, growing its business through green fielding, acquisitions and JVs, from $4 billion to $12 billion annually. Mr. Antoniadis also led Best Buy US-sales as Vice President of Sales Development where he was responsible for sales strategy, support and execution of $30.8 billion in sales.
Dr. Michael Labonté has led Solegear's biopolymer engineering team as Chief Technology Officer since 2010, creating Solegear's portfolio of proprietary, patent-pending Polysole® and Traverse® biopolymer product lines. Having previously worked in technical capacities within Canadian companies such as Bombardier and Cascades, Dr. Labonté has also designed and led university-level plastics curriculums both nationally and internationally. Michel holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) of Montreal, Canada and a Ph.D from École Polytechnique de Montréal, one of Canada's leading plastics technology institutions.
Noel Harvey, Vice President, Business Development, brings over 25 years of sales and business development experience to his role. Prior to joining Solegear, his most recent role was as Director of Business Development - Green Solutions at Ingredion, Inc, a global ingredient provider to the food, personal care, paper and packaging markets.
The Company also announced it has cancelled 1,235,374 options granted to Mr. Holmes and granted options to purchase 600,000 common shares to Mr. Clifford. The options granted are exercisable for ten years at an exercise price of $0.19 being the most recent closing price of the Company's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange prior to the date of grant, and are subject to the terms and conditions of the Company's stock option plan, a stock option agreement on the Company's standard form, and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. One-quarter of the options will vest on the one-year anniversary of the date of grant and the balance will vest in equal monthly installments over the following 36 months.
About Solegear Bioplastic Technologies Inc.
Solegear Bioplastic Technologies Inc., based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is an innovator in the field of next-generation plastics. The Company is an advanced materials firm that engineers, produces and distributes high-performance bioplastics (bioplastics are a category of plastics that are bio-based, compostable, or both). Founded in 2006, Solegear has developed, and is commercializing, proprietary bioplastics technologies that utilize annually renewable plant-based ingredients formulated using green chemistry, to address the growing North American market opportunity for rigid consumer packaging and durable plastic goods. www.solegear.ca
On behalf of the Company:
Paul Antoniadis, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibilities for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.