Philips Adding Two New Members to its Supervisory Board

Royal Philips is eyeing two new members for its Supervisory Board, one of whom will replace a retiring board member.

The appointments of Herna Verhagen and Sanjay Poonen will be proposed to the board at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on May 10. “We are pleased to nominate Herna Verhagen and Sanjay Poonen as new members of Philips’ Supervisory Board, supporting the company to deliver on its purpose of improving people’s health and well-being through innovation,” said Board Chairman Feike Sijbesma. “With her proven track record in driving a customer-first company culture and a background in e-commerce logistics, Verhagen will bring valued and new perspectives to the Supervisory Board, while Poonen’s extensive experience in enterprise IT will further strengthen the Supervisory Board’s digital competencies.”

Verhagen, 55, has been CEO and chair of the Board of Management of PostNL since 2012. Under her leadership, PostNL executed a strategic transformation from a mail delivery company into a growing postal and e-commerce logistic solutions provider. Before becoming CEO, Verhagen served as a member of the Management Board of PostNL, and was managing director Parcels and International PostNL. 
 
Poonen, 52, has held various executive leadership positions in the software industry, including most recently as chief operating officer for cloud computing company VMware. In this role he was responsible for all business functions, including sales, services, support, marketing and alliances including strategic agreements with Amazon, Microsoft and Google. Before VMware, he was president at SAP, where he led analytics, data management and vertical industry solutions.

In addition to Verhagen and Poonen’s appointments, the Supervisory Board also will consider reappointing Dr. Paul Stoffels and Dr. Marc Harrison, whose first terms expire this year. Neelam Dhawan, who joined Philips’ Supervisory Board in 2012, will retire from the Board after her third consecutive term. 
 
“We are also pleased that Dr. Paul Stoffels, the current vice chair, and Dr. Marc Harrison remain available as members of the board,” said Sijbesma. “Their expertise and experience in healthcare innovation is extremely valuable as Philips aims to support the transformation of healthcare with new health technology solutions along the health continuum.”
 
“On behalf of the Executive Committee and the Supervisory Board, I would like to express my gratitude to Neelam Dhawan for her long-term counsel and support since 2012,” said Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips. “Her in-depth knowledge of the IT industry, including research, software engineering, and services has been indispensable during Philips’ transformation into a health technology leader. We look forward to continue to grow Philips, supported by a diverse and experienced Supervisory Board, aiming to support consumers to lead a healthy life and our healthcare customers achieve the Quadruple Aim of better health outcomes, improved patient and staff experiences, and lower cost of care.”
 
Subject to AGM approval, Verhagen and Poonen will join a diverse and experienced Supervisory Board, consisting of members from Europe, North America and Asia with wide-ranging business experiences, including in the medical technology, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, IT, engineering and consumer goods industries.