AAK Annual Report 2018

5 In January, we officially opened a new Customer Innovation Center in Hull, UK. The center comprises a large test bakery, a state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen, and conference and office facilities. In February, another Customer Innovation Center, focused on co-developing products and solutions within Retail and Foodservice, was inaugurated in Runcorn, UK. In May, Johan Westman assumed his role as President and CEO. Prior to joining AAK, Johan was Senior Vice President Europe and Managing Director of the BlankLight division at Shiloh Industries, a global innovative solutions provider to the mobility market with its base in Valley City, Ohio, USA. To strengthen our position in yet another important Asian market, we invested in a customization plant in the Philippines at the end of May (picture to the right). For the Annual General Meeting in May, the Nomi- nation Committee of AAK AB proposed new election of Georg Brunstam as Chairman of the Board. The Annual General Meeting resolved in accordance with the proposal. It also resolved upon a share split (6:1) which came into effect in mid-June. In June, we signed an exclusive agent and distributor agreement with Food Specialities Limited (FSL), the leading food and beverage ingredient supplier in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region. In August, Terry Thomas, President USA, retired from AAK after nearly five and half years with the company. Octavio Díaz de León, President North Latin America, has taken over the responsibility for our US organization and continues to be responsible for North Latin America as well. In September, we inaugurated our new Customer Innovation Center in Singapore. The center will further strengthen our capabilities and customer co-development approach in the Southeast Asian market. In November, AAK established an MTN program (Medium Term Note) with a framework amount of SEK 4,000 million. The following month, the company issued a senior unsecured bond for a total of SEK 1.1 billion with a tenor of three years. 5