Ferrexpo CFO on way out, acting CEO appointed as director

Chris Mawe, the CFO of Ukraine’s largest iron ore
pellet exporter Ferrexpo (FXPO LN), has vacated his role as the company’s
director and will leave the company once an orderly transition process has been
established, Ferrexpo said in a July 6 investor release.

Mawe’s departure from his CFO role is expected no
later than by July 31, 2021, and Ferrexpo will announce his departure date once
it has been determined, according to the release.

Recall, in June Ferrexpo’s non-executive chair Steve Lucas announced his plans to retire.

Jim North, Ferrexpo’s acting CEO, has been appointed
as an executive director of the company, according to the same release. Recall,
in its May announcement of North’s appointment as acting CEO, Ferrexpo said
that North will not join the board of directors but will be
invited to attend all board meetings.

In a personal communication with Concorde Capital on
July 6, a Ferrexpo representative commented that North’s appointment to the
board of directors is in line with the company’s original plans, and that this
appointment has become possible by Mawe vacating a non-independent seat on the
board.

Dmytro Khoroshun: We see the
upcoming changes (new chair, new CFO) at Ferrexpo as an opportunity for the
company’s board and stakeholders, including the minority shareholders, to
strengthen the firm’s corporate governance.

Ferrexpo will use this opportunity well if it replaces
Mawe with someone with no ties to the company’s majority owner, Kostyantin
Zhevago. A good CFO choice will be a reputable manager from outside Ferrexpo
and Ukraine.