General
The Supervisory Board is comprised of Ms E.A. de Groot, Mr D.R. Goeminne (Chairman), Mr A.J.L. Slippens (Vice Chairman) and Mr W.T.C. van der Vis. The CVs of the members of the Supervisory Board are included in the section Supervisory Board. In accordance with the provisions of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code, all Supervisory Board members are independent.
Supervisory Directors are appointed for a period running up to and including the day of the first Annual General Meeting that is held four years after their appointment. Supervisory Directors retire periodically in accordance with a schedule to be drawn up by the Supervisory Board. The following retirement by rotation schedule applies:
Supervisory Director | Appointed | Reappointed | Retirement/reappointment |
|---|---|---|---|
D.R. Goeminne | 1 May 2010 | 19 May 2014 | AGM 2018 |
A.J.L. Slippens | 1 May 2010 | 19 May 2014 | AGM 2018 |
E.A. de Groot | 1 May 2011 | 19 May 2015 | AGM 2019 |
W.T.C. van der Vis | 25 April 2013 | 18 May 2017 | AGM 2021 |
In the Annual General Meeting on 18 May 2017, the Chairman informed the shareholders that Mr Slippens would be retiring in 2018. In accordance with best practice provision 2.2.2 of the revised Corporate Governance Code, it will be proposed in the Annual General Meeting on 26 April 2018 to extend the term of office of Mr Goeminne as Chairman by one year up to and including the Annual General Meeting in 2019. This is aimed at preventing a simultaneous departure of both the Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board and thus the loss of knowledge and experience and also at supporting the transition to a new composition of the Supervisory Board.
2017 Results
The Supervisory Board closely followed the revenue and profit development of Beter Bed Holding and recognises that the group’s performance in 2017 was mixed. While the consistent execution of the policy defined by the Management Board and the focus on revenue growth and profitability are certainly gratifying, the Supervisory Board shares the moderate satisfaction of the Management Board with regard to the disappointing results in Germany, despite the focus and the measures taken.
Despite the lower results for 2017, the Supervisory Board is convinced that the company should continue its strategy ‘From Good to Great 2016-2020’, aimed at long-term value creation, without change.