MR SIETZE HEPKEMA TO BE PROPOSED FOR APPOINTMENT AT EGM
· Creation of Management Board position follows commencement of compliance review
· Proposed appointee, Sietze Hepkema, has legal experience spanning three decades, including as Senior Partner, Allen & Overy, The Netherlands
· Mr Hepkema to oversee governance, compliance and legal affairs worldwide
SBM Offshore N.V. (SBM Offshore or 'the Company') is pleased to announce the proposed appointment of Mr Sietze Hepkema as 'Chief Governance and Compliance Officer' as a member of its Management Board, subject to approval by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on 27 June 2012. In the interim, Mr Hepkema will join the Company with immediate effect.

In 2011, SBM Offshore's Management Board launched a review of the Company's compliance procedures, including its anti-corruption guidelines, and their implementation. The addition of a Management Board position reflects the determination of SBM Offshore's new CEO, Mr Bruno Chabas, and of the Supervisory Board to establish a robust compliance culture throughout the Company.

As part of this review, the Company has recently become aware of certain sales practices involving third parties and which may have been improper. Outside counsel and forensic accountants, reporting to both the Management and Supervisory Boards, have been engaged to investigate these practices thoroughly. The Company has also taken the necessary steps to terminate any such practices. SBM Offshore has disclosed its internal investigation to appropriate authorities and is taking remedial action to enhance its compliance programme.

Mr Hepkema will be responsible for corporate governance and compliance matters with the aim of ensuring conformity with all applicable laws, policies and ethical and social standards. Specifically, Mr. Hepkema will have oversight of the current review with the purpose to ensure that the Company is in full compliance with all applicable laws and policies. Additionally, he will be tasked with the management of legal affairs and more particularly the steering of the ongoing disputes concerning the Company's legacy projects, and the development and implementation of initiatives on corporate social responsibility.

Mr Hepkema is a Dutch qualified lawyer and has been a partner with Allen & Overy. He has over three decades of experience advising companies, specialising in international corporate law, with a particular focus on corporate governance and corporate finance. Mr Hepkema was educated at Harvard Law School and the Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam and speaks Dutch, English and French.

Bruno Chabas, CEO of SBM Offshore commented on the nomination, "We are delighted to have secured an individual of the caliber of Mr Hepkema for an essential new position on our Management Board. The creation of this position, and the appointment of a world class legal expert in governance and ethics, is a vital signal to all our partners and customers, of our determination to uphold the highest standards of governance and compliance throughout the Company".

tijd 10.03
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