Jane Bell AM Appointed Chair of Mesoblast Audit and Risk Committee

NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mesoblast Limited (Nasdaq:MESO; ASX:MSB), global leader in allogeneic cellular medicines for inflammatory diseases, today announced that independent Director Jane Bell AM has been appointed Chair of the Mesoblast Board Audit and Risk Committee. Ms Bell joined the Board in August 2022, and is a banking and finance lawyer with 30 years of corporate finance expertise focussing on international investment transactions in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, including funds management, mergers, acquisitions, and divestments. The Board thanked retiring Director and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee Mr Michael Spooner for his many years of dedicated service and contributions, and wished him well in his future endeavours.

Commenting on her appointment as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, Ms Bell said, “My major focus will be to oversee and support management’s ongoing implementation of the Company’s cost containment and cash preservation initiatives. As outlined by Chief Executive Silviu Itescu very recently, the Company is targeting a 23% reduction (US$15 million) in annual net operating cash for FY2024 and a 40% annualized reduction in payroll by February 2024 which includes base salaries, short-term incentive payments and contractor fees. As important will be my focus on supporting the Chief Executive and management in the parallel pursuit of corporate initiatives to strengthen the balance sheet of the Company, including royalty monetization and strategic partnerships.”

Ms Bell is currently Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of publicly-listed biotechnology company Amplia Therapeutics, and serves as Chair of the Audit Committee and Deputy Chair of Monash Health, Australia’s largest and most diverse public health service delivering more than 3.46 million episodes of care across an extensive network of hospitals, rehabilitation, aged care, community health and mental health facilities. From 2014 until 2021 she was a director of U Ethical, Australia’s first ethical funds manager with over $1.2B of funds under management, and a member of both its Audit and Investment Committees. She has been a former Chair of Melbourne Health as well as of Advisory Groups for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance, and has been a director of Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Chair of its Intellectual Property and Commercialization Committee. Ms Bell holds a Master of Laws from King’s College (London), Bachelor of Laws University of Melbourne, and Bachelor of Economics Monash University. In 2023 Ms Bell was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her significant service to governance in the medical research, healthcare and not-for-profit sectors.