Mette Rode Sundstrøm to leave position as CEO during 2017
No. 03/2017
Copenhagen, 27 March 2017
Lauritz.com A/S's and Lauritz.com Group A/S's CEO Mette Rode Sundstrøm has informed the Board of Directors that she intends to resign her position. The search for a new CEO will commence immediately, headed by the Chairman of Lauritz.com Group's Board of Directors, Bengt Sundstrøm. Mette Rode Sundstrøm will remain in her position until a new CEO has been recruited, with continued focus on executing the management's strategy plan 2017. She is expected to take on a new role as board member of Lauritz.com Group A/S, with responsibilities in areas such as international strategy, acquisitions and branding.
"Mette has worked for Lauritz.com during 16 years, whereof 12 as CEO. She has done a tremendous job in leading the company and has built up Lauritz.com's concept, identity, and network of auction houses. We have always shared Lauritz.com's vision to democratize the auction world, making art, design and antiquities accessible for the modern consumer. Mette's strong focus on diversity within our customer group and auction assortment has been a vital success criterion for our growth. I fully respect her ambition to hand over the daily leadership to a new CEO, which will free up time for Mette to develop a new role within Lauritz.com to leverage on her more strategic and entrepreneurial skills. We expect to have a new CEO in place during 2017", comments Bengt Sundstrøm.
Lauritz.com has shown a yearly average auction turnover growth of over 25% since the start in 1999, with an auction turnover in 2016 of over DKK 1 billion and the highest EBITDA ever of DKK 46.3m. The number of auction houses has during the same period increased from 1 to 28 in five countries. Lauritz.com registers around 6.2 million online visitors and more than 13,000 new customers every month.
"I am grateful to have participated in Lauritz.com's amazing journey in the last 16 years. Lauritz.com initiated a paradigm shift in the international auction industry when we in 1999, as the first auction house in the world, converted from physical to online auctions. Bengt and I have, with our competent organization, built up Lauritz.com as the first mover within online auctions. I believe that we now need a more process-oriented CEO profile to execute the continuing operational roll-out of Lauritz.com internationally, by scaling our systems and optimizing our processes and earnings. This will also allow me to give my best to Lauritz.com in a new more strategic role on the board, explains Mette Rode Sundstrøm.
For press enquiries, please contact: Astrid-Louise W. Lidforsen,
e-mail press@lauritz.com, tel. +45 2689 8737.
Certified advisor: Erik Penser Bank, Stockholm
This information is information that Lauritz.com A/S is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 9.00 am CET on 27 March 2017.