ADECCO ANNOUNCES PLANNED SENIOR APPOINTMENTS: NEW CHAIRMAN AND NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
CHESEREX, SWITZERLAND February 6, 2002 Adecco SA (Swiss Stock Exchange - ADEN/ trading on Virt-x: 1213860), the world's leading provider of personnel services, today announced the fulfillment of its previously announced plans to make further senior appointments within its organisation. Long-standing CEO John Bowmer becomes the company's new Chairman, whilst current President of the Adecco Staffing business Jérôme Caille becomes the new Chief Executive Officer of the Adecco Group. The appointments constitute the logical next phase in the Group's organizational plans commenced in October with the structuring of the Group into three operating divisions: Adecco Staffing; Ajilon Staffing and Managed Services, and Career Services/e-Business.
John Bowmer has served as CEO of the Adecco Group since its birth in 1996, during which time the Group's revenues have grown from CHF 6.4 billion to over CHF 27 billion and its profits from CHF 200 million to over CHF 700 million. Jérôme Caille was appointed President of the Adecco brand in August 2001, following his success as country manager for Italy since 1997, where the business in that country has grown from small beginnings to capture for itself the biggest percentage share of any individual Adecco geographical market.
Commenting on the appointments, chairman Klaus Jacobs, who is scheduled to step down at the AGM on April 17th 2002 said: "The Group's astonishing performance under John Bowmer's leadership prove that he is the logical choice to oversee Adecco's next phase of development. His success has been built on the teamwork, empowerment and encouragement of excellent performance he has fostered around the organisation. These values are exemplified by Jérôme Caille, whose achievements will make him more than able to continue the work that John has begun."
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About John Bowmer
Over the past dozen years, John P. Bowmer has held executive management positions within companies that have merged to form Adecco SA, the world's leading personnel services and career management company. Adecco has revenues of over CHF 27 billion and income before amortization of goodwill restructuring costs and one time items of over CHF 700 million. The company operates close to 6,000 offices in 58 countries around the world. Each day, Adecco's 30,000 colleagues place 700,000 temporary associates with over 250,000 clients worldwide.
Mr. Bowmer was named Chief Executive Officer of Adecco SA in 1996. Between 1987 and 1989, Mr. Bowmer was CEO of Jonathan Wren, a London, England, based subsidiary supplying staff to The City. From London, he moved to Sydney, Australia as Zone Manager for Adia's Asia Pacific operations. In 1992, he became CEO of Adia worldwide, and in 1996, when Adia and ECCO merged to form Adecco, he became CEO of Adecco SA.
Previously, Mr. Bowmer held a range of management positions in marketing and finance. At MAI plc, a financial services and media organization, he was Executive Director and Chief Executive of the Personal Financial Services division in London. Before that, while based in Hong Kong, he oversaw fifteen companies in eight countries from Australia to Thailand, in charge of MAI's Asia Pacific business. Mr. Bowmer has also served as marketing division General Manager for Polaroid (UK) Ltd., and as a senior financial analyst for Ford Motor of Europe, based in the UK.
Mr. Bowmer earned a Masters degree from the London Graduate School of Business Studies and a degree in economics and politics from Keele University in England.
About Jérôme Caille
Jérôme Caille commenced his career with Adecco Spain in 1991. He was initially a branch manager in Bruc, Barcelona, managing 4 employees and 150 temporary workers per day.
The following year he became a National Account Manager and two years later was appointed Development Manager for Spain. Jérôme was rapidly promoted to the position of Regional Manager of Catalonia and the Balearics and then Deputy General Manager for the north-east zone of the Spanish market.
From 1997 to October 2001, Jérôme held the position of General Manager of the Adecco companies in Italy and Greece, where he managed 550 branches, 2,200 employees and 30,000 temporary workers per day. In October 2001 he was named President of the Adecco brand business worldwide.
Jérôme Caille has a Master in Business Administration from the Scuola Superiore Commerciale, Lyon in France.
About Adecco
Adecco SA is a Forbes 500 company and the global leader in HR Solutions. The Adecco network connects up to 700,000 associates with business clients each day through its network of over 30,000 employees and close to 6,000 offices in 58 countries around the world. Registered in Switzerland, and managed by a multinational team with expertise in markets spanning the globe, Adecco delivers an unparalleled range of flexible staffing and career resources to corporate clients and qualified associates.
The Group comprises of three Divisions, Adecco Staffing, Ajilon Staffing & Managed Services; and Career Services/e-Business: In Adecco Staffing, the Adecco staffing network focuses on flexible staffing solutions for global industries in transition, including automotive, banking, electronics, logistics and telecommunications; Ajilon Staffing and Managed Services offers an unrivalled range of specialised branded businesses; Career Services/e-Business encompasses our portfolio of e-recruiting, executive search and outplacement businesses.
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Adecco is registered in Switzerland and is listed on the Swiss Exchange (ADEN / trading on Virt-x: 1213860), NYSE (ADO), Euronext Premier Marché (12819). You can find out more about Adecco from our website: www.Adecco.com.
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