Steve Binnie appointed as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") effective 01 July 2014

Johannesburg – The board of directors ("the board") of Sappi Limited is pleased to have announced today that Steve Binnie, currently the Chief Financial Officer "CFO" of the company, will succeed Ralph Boëttger as CEO on 01 July 2014.

Steve Binnie (46) joined Sappi on 09 July 2012 as CFO-designate and became CFO and joined the Sappi Limited Board on 01 September 2012. Prior to joining Sappi Steve had been the CFO of Edcon (Pty) Ltd since 2002. Prior to joining Edcon he was Group Financial Manager at Investec Bank Limited and held senior management positions at Transunion ITC and New Zealand Milk Products (SA). He is a Chartered Account and holds an MBA from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Dr Danie Cronjé, Chairman of the board of Sappi Limited, said: "I would like to congratulate Steve on his appointment. The board believes that Steve has all the necessary skills and attributes to take Sappi forward and to deliver strong growth into the future.

"It is anticipated that a successor for the role of CFO will be announced before the end of June 2014."

About Sappi Fine Paper North America

Sappi North America, known for innovation and quality, is a preeminent North American producer of coated fine and release papers, as well as dissolving pulp (DP) and market kraft pulp headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Its coated fine papers, with highly recognized brand names such as McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo, are used in premium magazines, catalogs, books and high-end print advertising. Its food packaging brand, Lusterprint is a greaseproof product with an excellent print surface. The company is also the world's leading supplier of release papers for the automotive, fashion and engineered films industries, including the globally recognized Ultracast brand. Sappi's release papers provide the surface aesthetics for synthetic fabrics used in footwear, clothing, upholstery and accessories, as well as the textures for decorative laminates found in kitchens, baths, flooring and other decorative surfaces. Sappi globally is the world's largest manufacturer of dissolving pulp, a versatile raw material for a wide range of products including textile fibers and household products. Sappi North America, through the recent conversion of the Cloquet pulp mill, manufactures dissolving pulp under Sappi's Specialised Cellulose division primarily for the textile markets.

Sappi North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited (JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with over 14,000 employees and manufacturing operations on three continents in seven countries and customers in over 100 countries around the world. Learn more about Sappi at: www.sappi.com/na.

 

Contact a Sappi Representative

Olga Karagiannis

+1 617 423 5049

Olga.Karagiannis@sappi.com