Beijing, China
February 28, 2008
Origin Agritech Limited
(NASDAQ: SEED) ("Origin"), a leading, vertically-integrated
supplier of hybrid seeds in China and parts of Southeast Asia,
today announced the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer
and two additional internal changes to its management team.
Ms. Veronica Jing Chen has been named Chief Financial Officer,
effective December 15, 2007. Ms. Chen, 41, has more than 20
years of experience in international accounting, finance, and
management, including five years at a U.S.-listed public
company. Ms. Chen will replace Jeff Wang, who resigned as Chief
Financial Officer to pursue other interests.
Dr. Gengchen Han, Origin's Chairman and Co-Chief Executive
Officer, commented, "Veronica will be a tremendous asset to our
management team. She brings with her a unique combination of
international finance expertise, management experience at a
public company, and regulatory knowledge. We are thrilled that
Veronica will join our innovative and growing company, and we
look forward to her contributions.
"On behalf of everyone at Origin, I would like to thank Jeff for
his contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors."
Dr. Han added.
Ms. Chen comes to Origin from ShanghaiMed iKang Healthcare,
Inc., a leading healthcare management service provider in China,
where she served as Senior Director of Finance beginning in
2006. In that role, Ms. Chen had overall financial and
accounting management responsibilities for 29 business units.
Prior to iKang, she was Director of Finance for eLong, Inc., a
Beijing-based online travel service provider. At eLong, Ms. Chen
established and subsequently upgraded financial management
systems for the Company's 14 business units. She was
instrumental in preparing eLong for its successful U.S. initial
public offering in October 2004. After the IPO, she implemented
various financial controls and corporate governance policies to
comply with Sarbanes-Oxley. Prior to eLong, Ms. Chen worked at
Eli Lilly Asia.
Ms. Chen received an MBA degree from the City University in
Seattle, Washington. She is fluent in Mandarin, English, and
Japanese.
Origin also announced that Mr. Liang Yuan has been appointed
Co-Chief Executive Officer and President, and Mr. Yasheng Yang
has been named Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Mr. Yuan, 49, had been a Director and Executive Vice Chairman of
Origin since 1997; he has relinquished the title and
responsibilities of Executive Vice Chairman. As Co-Chief
Executive Officer and President, Mr. Yuan will assist Dr.
Gengchen Han by assuming more day-to-day operational duties.
Mr. Yang, 43, had served as Director, President, Treasurer and
Chief Operating Officer since 1998. He is stepping down from his
daily operational responsibilities in these roles in order to
focus on overall strategy and growth initiatives.
Dr. Han commented, "In their new positions, Mr. Yuan and Mr.
Yang will help oversee and direct Origin's ongoing expansion
efforts in China and certain parts of Southeast Asia. Together,
we will spearhead initiatives to address the potential that
exists in our US$2 billion market, our superior seed products,
and our nationwide network of 3,200 distributors. I look forward
to working with Messrs. Yuan and Yang to leverage Origin's
potential and build value for our shareholders." |
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