Three of PotashCorp's employees were elected to the Board of Directors of SQM at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 24, 2015.
Each of the three individuals brings professional expertise and perspective that will be valuable to the SQM Board in best corporate governance practices, internal controls and operations.
Newly elected directors nominated by PotashCorp will be Robert Kirkpatrick, Joanne Boyes and Arnfinn Prugger.
Mr. Kirkpatrick, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary of PotashCorp, has been with PotashCorp since 1994 and is responsible for securities regulatory compliance and advising on corporate finance and development matters. He is a regular management participant on PotashCorp's Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.
Ms. Boyes, Senior Director of Corporate Reporting, Finance and Compliance, has been with PotashCorp since 2004 and is responsible for external financial and integrated reporting, complex accounting, treasury activities and overseeing internal controls compliance. She is a regular management participant on PotashCorp's Audit Committee.
Mr. Prugger, Vice President, Technical Services for PCS Potash, has been with the company for over 25 years and has a wide range of senior-level experience in mining and geophysics.
PotashCorp's three directors join Juan Antonio Guzman, Hans Dieter Linneberg Arancabia, Wolf von Appen, Hernan Buchi B., nominated by Pampa Calichera, and Edward J. Waitzer supported by Pampa Calichera, PotashCorp and significant minority shareholders.
By agreement the new Board Chair will be Juan Antonio Guzman, replacing Julio Ponce who has stepped off the Board.
Also by agreement, Mr. Waitzer, the independent Series B Director will chair the new independent ad hoc committee regarding the ongoing government investigation and serve on a new Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee (CGNC). The CGNC, chaired by Mr. Kirkpatrick, will work toward continuous improvement of a well-qualified, high-functioning Board, with a priority on effective corporate governance practices.
PotashCorp would like to thank its recently departed Board members for their dedication and long years of service. Alejandro Montero, Jose Maria Eyzaguirre and Wayne Brownlee have served as PotashCorp representatives for many years. We would like to recognize Alejandro and Jose Maria for their dedicated support over the last few months in what has been a challenging time for SQM. PotashCorp also extends a thank-you to Julio Ponce for his years of service to the Board.
PotashCorp is pleased with the changes to SQM's Board and governance structure and is looking forward to supporting SQM in executing its operating and growth strategy.