NL
Gothenburg, Sweden, 28 February 2023, at 14:15 CET Heliospectra AB’s (publ) board is happy to announce that they have appointed Bonny Heeren as permanent CEO. Bonny was appointed interim CEO on January 1st, 2022. Following a transitional year for Heliospectra, on both a strategic and operational level, he has accepted the position as permanent CEO and will assume his new role as of March 1st, 2023. At the same time, Bonny will also take over as interim CFO from Annika Westlund, who will step down as CFO.
Following his appointment in January 2022, Bonny took a critical look at Heliospectra, its strategy, and its offerings. It resulted in several organizational changes, leaving a streamlined and agile company, more in tune with the industry, and significantly decreased operational costs. As a result, Heliospectra is now ready to reclaim its position as a leader in smart lighting with a robust wireless solution that brings commercial growers’ high-quality plants, control, and significant energy savings.
Last week the company announced MITRA Flex, their new wirelessly controlled flexible far-red light. With three spectra in one, MITRA Flex allows growers to fully gain all the advantages of application-based growing and far-red light. Bringing significant value to growers whose crop reacts positively to far-red light, such as cut flowers, potted flower plants, and leafy greens.
To show their belief in Bonny, the three major shareholders have granted him call options as part of an incentives program for 5,000,000 shares with a strike period between February 1st to April 30th, 2026. The call options are acquired at market value in accordance with the Black and Scholes option valuation model.
“This past year has been a journey. I am very proud of our team and what we have accomplished. Their hard work has resulted in Heliospectra offering a unique smart energy-saving lighting solution designed for large commercial installations. We have updated and improved our helioCORE™ system and finalized Adelphi, our new wireless connector, to integrate our static lighting. Launched and installed our new MITRA X and wireless solution at growers in Denmark, the Netherlands, and the UK, and last week we just launched our new MITRA Flex, a unique wireless controlled flexible far-red light. All while creating important networks and connections with growers and partners in the European market. I am certain that Heliospectra now has all the prerequisites to grow to become a leader in the LED grow light market, and I want to be part of that. Investing in the company, therefore, felt self-explanatory”, says Bonny Heeren, CEO of Heliospectra.
”Bonny has made significant positive changes to Heliospectra this past year, both on an operational and strategic level. He has a clear strategy for where Heliospectra is going. I, and the rest of the board, are fully confident that Bonny is the right person to bring Heliospectra to break-even and beyond. We are delighted that he will continue to head Heliospectra into a, indeed, bright future,” says Andreas Gunnarsson, Chairman of the Board, Heliospectra.
Bonny Heeren started as a board member of Heliospectra in May 2021. Before that, he held several different senior positions within the Saint-Gobain Group, most recently as division manager for Horticulture. Prior to that he was for several years the CFO of different activities within Saint-Gobain. He has also invested in several start-up AgTech companies. His background has allowed him to build a solid experience in the global horticulture and greenhouse market and an extensive network of growers and suppliers in the Netherlands.
At the same time, Annika Westlund has resigned from her position as Heliospectra’s CFO. Now that the more significant part of the restructuring of Heliospectra is completed, Annika has chosen to focus on new challenges and commitments. As a result, the board has initiated the recruitment process and the search for her successor. During the transition period, Bonny Heeren, CEO of Heliospectra, will step in as acting CFO as of March 1st, 2023.
As Bonny assumes his new position, he will also resign as a board member of Heliospectra.