FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934
April 18, 2002
SMITH & NEPHEW plc
(Registrant's name)
Heron House
15 Adam Street
London, England WCN 6LA
(Address of registrant's principal executive offices)
[Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file
annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.]
Form 20-F X Form 40-F
----- ----
[Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing information to
the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2 (b) under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934.]
Yes No X
---- -----
If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2 (b) : 82- n/a.
Total Pages: 4
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Smith & Nephew plc
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15 Adam Street
London WC2N 6LA
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7401 7646
Facsimile: +44 (0)20 7930 3426
http://www.smith-nephew.com
Smith & Nephew
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Contact: Margaret Stewart
Smith & Nephew plc
011-44-207-401-7646
- or -
Brian Rafferty
Taylor Rafferty
212-889-4350
NEW PRESIDENT FOR SMITH & NEPHEW ORTHOPAEDICS
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Larry Papasan Announces Plans To Retire
LONDON - April 15, 2002 - Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN), the global medical
devices company, today announces that Larry W Papasan, President of the
company's Orthopaedic operations, plans to retire at the end of this year. Mr.
Papasan, 61, will become Chairman of Smith & Nephew's Orthopaedics Division
from May 1 until his retirement and work with the new President to ensure a
smooth transition.
The new President of Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics will be Mr. David
Illingworth, 48, who has wide executive experience in leading advanced medical
device companies and a strong background in global business operations, sales
and marketing.
An American, Mr. Illingworth's background was initially with GE Medical
Systems in the United States and Asia, followed by senior positions in medical
device companies Nellcor Puritan Bennett and VidaMed Inc. Until recently he
was President of XL Vision Inc., a company that created technology spin-offs.
Smith & Nephew Chief Executive Chris O'Donnell said: "Larry Papasan has made a
major contribution to the success of our orthopaedics business, steering it to
become one of the most successful in its sector."
"David Illingworth brings strategic level experience of growing companies
globally and will provide strong leadership to our continuing development as a
major orthopaedics business. David's experience will be a valuable asset in
our continuing commitment to drive our business in our key world markets
through the launch of high technology products and a strong and knowledgeable
sales force."
- more -
Smith & Nephew is a global advanced medical devices company with a highly
successful track record in developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide
variety of innovative and technologically advanced tissue repair products.
These products are primarily in the areas of bone, joints, skin and other soft
tissue. Smith & Nephew has extensive marketing and distribution capabilities,
with established sales in more than 90 countries.
Smith & Nephew ADRs, each equivalent to ten ordinary shares, trade on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbol SNN. Smith & Nephew ordinary shares trade
on the London Stock Exchange. Shares are quoted on the SEAQ System, and prices
may be accessed on the Reuter Equities 2000 Service under the symbol SNIN.L,
on Bloomberg under the symbol SNN, and on Quotron under the symbol SMU.EU. For
further information, visit Smith & Nephew's website at
http://www.smith-nephew.com.
# # #
16 April 2002
The Secretary
London Stock Exchange
Company Announcement Office
Old Broad Street
London
EC2N 1HP
Dear Sirs,
Smith & Nephew plc has been notified today, pursuant to
Section 198 of the Companies Act 1985 (as amended), by
FMR Corp and Fidelity International Limited that they
have a notifiable interest in 92,943,405 ordinary
shares of 12 2/9p each in the Company representing
10.03% of the issued share capital of the Company.
Yours faithfully,
J.V. Sutton
Assistant Company Secretary