It is with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of our former Chairman of the Board, Sir John Buchanan. Sir John died following an illness.
Sir John joined the Board of Smith & Nephew in 2005 and was Chairman between 2006 and 2014. He was also Senior Independent Director and Deputy Chairman of Vodafone Group, Senior Independent Director of BHP Billiton, Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (UK), Member of the Advisory Board of Ondra Bank and Chairman of UK Trustees for the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal. In addition, he was a former Executive Director and Group Financial Officer of BP, serving on the BP Board for six years.
Sir John was committed not only to building successful businesses, but to giving back to the community. He was awarded a knighthood by the Queen in Her Majesty's New Year Honours 2012 in recognition of his services to industry.
We at Smith & Nephew mourn the loss of Sir John, and extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Sir John was a wise, distinguished and respected colleague and I am honoured to have had the opportunity to work with and know him.
His legacy of integrity, strong values and high standards will live on here at Smith & Nephew.
Olivier Bohuon
Chief Executive Officer
14 July 2015