Spirent Communications PLC Appointment of Chief Executive Officer (7075U)

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RNS Number : 7075U

Spirent Communications PLC

01 April 2019

SPIRENT COMMUNICATIONS PLC

Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

London, UK - 1 April 2019: Spirent Communications plc ("Spirent", the "Company" or the "Group") (LSE: SPT), a leading communications technology company, today announces that Eric Updyke has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer-designate of Spirent Communications plc. His employment will start on 1 April 2019 and he will be appointed as a director of the Company and take up the CEO position following the AGM on 1 May 2019.

Eric's appointment follows Spirent's announcement in November 2018 that Eric Hutchinson wished to retire after 37 years of employment with the Group, most recently as Chief Executive Officer, following his appointment to that role in 2013. He will step down from the Board after the AGM on 1 May 2019.

Eric Updyke has extensive experience in international business management with a strong technical understanding of the markets in which Spirent operates. He has worked in various sections of the industry over the last 30 years and has led transformative growth programmes on a global scale.

Most recently, Eric was on the Executive Management team of Amdocs reporting directly to the CEO. In his capacity as Group President, Services at Amdocs Ltd he had global responsibility for the entire Managed Services, Testing and SI businesses. This business encompassed 10,000 employees and roughly $2 billion in revenue. Prior to that role, Eric was Division President for North America at Amdocs where he managed a $1 billion P&L and was responsible for the relationship with North American communications service providers. Prior to his time at Amdocs, he held executive roles at Nokia Siemens Networks and AT&T. Eric has a great track record of success, has functional expertise in every facet of the business and has excelled in multi-cultural global companies. Eric has an MBA in Finance and a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.

Commenting on the appointment, Bill Thomas, Chairman, said:

"The Board wanted to appoint an executive who was growth oriented with global experience and deep expertise in our chosen markets. We are delighted to appoint Eric and are confident that he meets all those criteria.

"I would also like to express the Board's thanks and appreciation to Eric Hutchinson who has created the platform to realise Spirent's potential."

Spirent CEO Eric Hutchinson said, "I wish Eric every success in his new role."

Eric Updyke said "I am delighted to be joining Spirent. It has a range of leading technologies and well established relationships with many of the industry's global leaders. I look forward to building on its current strengths and exploring ways in which to further exploit Spirent's potential."

Director Declarations

No information is required to be disclosed under UKLA Listing Rules, paragraph 9.6.13R (1) to 9.6.13R (6):

 
  Interests in Spirent securities (Ordinary shares of 3 & 1/3 
                          pence each) 
                              N/A 
 

Remuneration for Eric Updyke

Eric Updyke will receive a basic salary of $720,000 per annum along with benefits in line with local US practice. These will include medical and dental insurance, life cover, the right to defer salary into a Group deferred compensation plan and participation in the Company's 401(k) plan. He is also entitled to a car allowance of $20,000. His employment can be terminated by the Company on 12 months' notice or by him on six months' notice.

From joining, he will participate in the Company's:

-- Annual Cash Incentive Plan, under which for 2019 the on-target performance opportunity is 90 per cent of base salary (with the maximum opportunity being 150 per cent of base salary). Any payment for 2019 will be calculated pro-rata to Eric's length of service in the year.

-- Long Term Incentive Plan, and during 2019 is expected to be granted an award (on the same terms as the Company's current executive directors) equal to 150 per cent of base salary.

Buy-out award

It is anticipated Eric Updyke will be granted a buy-out award of up to $1.2 million to replace awards forfeited by him on leaving his previous employment. It is anticipated any buy-out award will vest subject to continued employment and satisfactory personal performance in three equal tranches over one, two and three years. The Company may make use of Listing Rule 9.4.2(2) in order to make the buy-out award.

All proposed payments are in line with Spirent's shareholder approved Directors' Remuneration Policy. Full details of Eric Updyke's remuneration will be disclosed in the Company's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2019.

- ends -

Enquiries

 
  Eric Hutchinson, Chief Executive       Spirent Communications 
   Officer                                plc                        [phone] 
  Paula Bell, Chief Financial 
   Officer 
 
  James Melville Ross/Dwight                                         [phone] 
   Burden/Adam Davidson                  FTI Consulting               1000 
 

About Spirent Communications plc

Spirent Communications plc (LSE: SPT) offers test, measurement, analytics and assurance solutions for next-generation devices and networks. Spirent provides products, services and information solutions for high-speed Ethernet, positioning mobile network infrastructure markets, with expanding focus on service assurance, cyber security and 5G. Spirent is accelerating the transition of connected devices, network equipment and applications from development labs to the operational network, as it continues to innovate toward fully-automated testing and autonomous service assurance solutions. Further information about Spirent Communications plc can be found at https://corporate.spirent.com/.

Spirent Communications plc Ordinary Shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: SPT; LEI: 213800HKCUNWP1916L38). The Company operates a Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programme with each ADR representing four Spirent Communications plc Ordinary Shares. The ADRs trade in the US over-the-counter (OTC) market under the symbol SPMYY and the CUSIP number is 84856M209. Spirent ADRs are quoted on the Pink OTC Markets electronic quotation service which can be found at http://www.otcmarkets.com/marketplaces/otc-pink.

Spirent and the Spirent logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Spirent Communications plc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned herein are held by their respective companies. All rights reserved.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

This document may contain forward-looking statements which are made in good faith and are based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. You can sometimes, but not always, identify these statements by the use of a date in the future or such words as "will", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "project", "intend", "plan", "should", "may", "assume" and other similar words. By their nature, forward-looking statements are inherently predictive and speculative and involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future performance and are subject to factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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April 01, 2019 09:02 ET (13:02 GMT)