Skladnev steps down as Polartechnics CEO

Following a board stoush last year and calls by shareholders at the company's AGM for a change in management, Polartechnics (ASX:PLT) CEO Victor Skladnev was yesterday replaced by Ben Dillon.

The appointment of Dillon, a former partner at accountancy KPMG, was hailed by Polartechnics chairman Robert Hunter as more in tune with shareholder wishes.

"I hope that it's the start of some fresh energy," Hunter said. "The shareholders spoke extremely strongly at the AGM for a change of CEO. [Dillon] is a corporate person heading up the company, rather than a science person. The company will succeed better having a corporate person."

Dillon has more than 20 years of business experience. He was a partner and director of corporate finance at KPMG, an executive at Macquarie Bank and head of property at Westpac, and most recently as director and principal of Sonnenblick Goldman Asia Pacific.

"I really like challenges and this will be one," said Dillon, who will be spending his first week at the company being briefed off-site by Hunter.

Asked if his lack of biotechnology experience would be a problem, Dillon said: "The company already has a very rich platform of biotech expertise and I've got full confidence in the senior management of the group spread across a number of those disciplines".

Dillon said Polartechnics faced two main issues. "It needs to be able to get greater commercialisation of its research and its patents," he said. "To do that it will need to explore a number of opportunities offshore with a range of strategic partners. My main focus will be to assist, facilitate and direct that commercialisation."

Hunter said Polartechnics had been looking for someone who had the skill set to put the board's vision into effect in the short to medium term. "The vision is to complete the R&D on the company's products, look to commercialising those products, and form relationships with some strategic joint venture partners to assist in the commercialisation of those products," he said.

While Dillon said that the company already had a number of sites for its products, it needed to work on development of its 'next-generation', and opportunities to roll them out into markets other than Australia.

"You'll probably also see some new appointments to the board -- they will probably have a marketing bent," said Dillon. "We're well loaded with the biotech, what we probably need to do is broaden our commercialisation capability."

Board conflict

Last year was a turbulent one for Polartechnics. In June, major shareholder Richard Opara stepped down from his role as interim chairman, to be replaced by Hunter, a corporate financial advisor. US biotech executive Len Firestone stepped down as a director the next day. Opara's role as chairman was short-lived -- he took up the position in February 2005, after Ventracor CEO Colin Sutton resigned from the Polartechnics board.

Soon after Opara stepped down as chairman, he served a requisition on Polartechnics to convene an EGM, proposing that Skladnev and Hunter be removed as directors, to be replaced by himself and Firestone. But Polartechnics shareholders soundly rejected each Opara's proposals.

"There has been boardroom disruption," said Hunter, "To a large extent that has been dealt with. We now have a new CEO, new board candidates are currently being looked at, so we will have a completely fresh start."

Skladnev will remain a director of Polartechnics.