5N Plus Appoints Arjang Roshan as New President and Chief Executive Officer

MONTREAL, Dec. 10, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - 5N Plus Inc. (TSX: VNP), the leading producer of specialty metal and chemical products, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Arjang J. (AJ) Roshan as the Company's new President and Chief Executive Officer effective February 15, 2016. Mr. Roshan replaces Mr. Jacques L'Ecuyer whom has informed the Board of Directors of the Company of his desire to step aside from his position of President and Chief Executive Officer as indicated in the Company's press release issued on November 3, 2015.

Mr. Roshan brings over 20 years of international and executive experience, closely related to 5N Plus' line of business having worked for Umicore, a global materials technology and recycling group for the last 18 years. Initially focused on the Automotive Catalysts Business, since 2012, Mr. Roshan has been acting as Senior Vice President of Umicore's Electro-Optic Materials Business Unit, widely recognized as the global leader in development, production, recycling and refining of Germanium related products including substrates for space industry, LED and photovoltaic applications, in addition to infrared transparent materials and high purity chemicals and metals.  

Following a global search, Mr. Roshan was selected mainly due to his established track record for demonstrating success in both sustainably growing businesses in various markets including Asia Pacific, Europe and North America in addition to transforming troubled ventures facing various challenges ranging from unsustainable cost structure and shifting competitive landscape to those burdened by misaligned business models and deteriorating margins. In both situations Mr. Roshan has demonstrated leadership qualities which have yielded outstanding results.

"We interviewed a number of highly-qualified candidates in Canada and from around the world. Our key criteria was to attract an accomplished executive with a proven track record for impeccable leadership and ability to maximize inherent value within a company so as to deliver consistent and competitive results. Moreover, we sought a global leader with the ability to enable, empower and inspire our people in order to transform challenges into a viable source of opportunity. Mr. Roshan met all the desired criteria, in addition he has demonstrated the skills required to lead appropriate change-initiatives across large-scale corporate cultures," said Mr. Jean-Marie Bourassa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of 5N Plus.

Prior to his appointment as Senior Vice President of Umicore's Electro-Optic Materials Business Unit, located in Belgium; from 1998 to 2012, Mr. Roshan held a number of executive positions in the United States and Asia within Automotive Catalysts Division of Umicore. From 1995 to 1998, he worked at Bosch North America as Program Manager, and from 1992 to 1995 at Ford Motor Company as Development Engineer. Mr. Roshan is a graduate of Executive Program at The University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. He holds an Executive MBA degree from the Broad Business School of Michigan State University and a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Michigan Technological University.

"I am excited to join the team at 5N Plus and it is a privilege to lead the executive team.  While the industry is facing various challenges, I strongly believe that 5N Plus has the right DNA to turn these challenges into a source of viable opportunity. Having been engaged in the same industry it is evident that 5N Plus has established itself as a company with an outstanding pedigree, thanks to the vision of Mr. Jacques L'Ecuyer. Moving ahead, I look forward to developing a thriving culture at 5N Plus with emphasis on creating sustainable value for our shareholders, our customers and our stakeholders. I would like to thank the Board for their vote of confidence and am looking forward to working with them very closely to develop the next chapter of our future. Last but certainly not least, I am looking forward to working with our people at 5N Plus as I view them the key source for value generation," said Mr. Roshan.

Mr. L'Ecuyer who co-founded 5N Plus in 2000, acted as its President and Chief Executive Officer since its inception, and grew the Company to sales of more than $500 million in 2014, said "I am very pleased with the arrival of Mr. Roshan and strongly believe that he will be able to provide leadership and execution towards the next phase of development of 5N Plus."

About 5N Plus Inc.
5N Plus is the leading producer of specialty metal and chemical products. Fully integrated with closed-loop recycling facilities, the Company is headquartered in Montreal, Québec, Canada and operates manufacturing facilities and sales offices in several locations in Europe, the Americas and Asia. 5N Plus deploys a range of proprietary and proven technologies to produce products which are used in a number of advanced pharmaceutical, electronic and industrial applications. Typical products include purified metals such as bismuth, gallium, germanium, indium, selenium and tellurium, inorganic chemicals based on such metals and compound semiconductor wafers.  Many of these are critical precursors and key enablers in markets such as solar, light-emitting diodes and eco-friendly materials.

Forward-Looking Statements and Disclaimer
This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws.  All information and statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking information.  Such statements and information may be identified by words such as "about", "approximately", "may", "believes", "expects", "will", "intends", "should", "plans", "predicts", "potential", "projects", "anticipates", "estimates", "continues" or similar words or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology.  Forward-looking statements are based on the best estimates available to 5N Plus at this time and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause 5N Plus' actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. A description of the risks affecting 5N Plus' business and activities appears under the heading "Risk and Uncertainties" of 5N Plus' 2014 MD&A dated February 24, 2015 and notes 11 and 12 of the unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information in this press release will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that 5N Plus will derive therefrom. In particular, no assurance can be given as to the future financial performance of 5N Plus.  The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof and 5N Plus undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise, unless required by applicable securities laws. The reader is warned against placing undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE 5N Plus Inc.

Jean Mayer, Vice President, Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary, 5N Plus Inc., [phone] x6178, [email protected]