BioAmber Inc. (Montreal, Canada; www.bio-amber.com), has announced that chief financial officer (CFO) Andrew Ashworth retired on December 31, 2014 and Francois Laurin has been hired to succeed Ashworth as the company’s CFO.
Andrew Ashworth is retiring after three and a half years as BioAmber’s CFO, the culmination of a long and distinguished career that previously included senior positions at Genencor/Danisco and VF Corp. Ashworth was instrumental in preparing BioAmber for its initial public offering, completing the IPO in 2013 and ensuring regulatory compliance since the listing. He will continue in an advisory role to the company in the first half of 2015 to ensure a smooth transition.
Francois Laurin has been hired to succeed Andrew as CFO. Francois was most recently the CFO of Alderon Iron Ore Corp., a publicly listed exploration and development stage company in the mining sector. Laurin was formerly the CFO of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines, where he played a leading role in the rapid growth of the company and its subsequent sale to Cliffs National Resources for $4.9 billion and prior to that he was the CFO of Transat A.T. He has also held senior financial positions at Caisse de Depot du Quebec, Bombardier and Teleglobe. He is a chartered professional accountant and a chartered financial analyst, and was named a Fellow CPA in 2014.
“Andy has been a valued colleague who’s extensive experience helped guide our IPO efforts. He will be missed and we wish him the best in his retirement,” said JF Huc, BioAmber CEO. “I am pleased to welcome Francois Laurin, a seasoned, dynamic CFO with extensive public company experience. He is a great addition and will help lead BioAmber through our next stage of growth,” he added.