Velan Inc. Announces the Appointment of Benoit Alain as Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer. He Will Assume the Position of Chief Financial Officer on June 1, 2021

MONTREAL, May 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Velan Inc. (TSX: VLN) (the “Company”), a world-leading manufacturer of industrial valves, is pleased to announce as part of the planned succession of the Company`s finance department, the appointment of Benoit Alain as its new Chief Financial Officer. Beginning today as Special Advisor to the CEO, M. Alain will undertake his official responsibilities as CFO on June 1, 2021. He will be a key member of the Company’s Senior Management team and will succeed John Ball, who has been effectively carrying out his mandate as interim Chief Financial Officer since last January. As of June 1, Mr. Alain will report directly to Yves Leduc, CEO, as well as the Chair of the Audit Committee of Velan Inc.

Benoit Alain, an international executive, began his career at Raymond Chabot Martin Paré, and progressed to lead finance departments in the manufacturing industry, culminating with senior roles in ArcelorMittal and Cascades. At ArcelorMittal, he held successive CFO roles for Canada, North America, and the mining group, of which he eventually became the Chief Marketing Officer. He joined Cascades as CFO of the Tissue Group and eventually led two of its major business units, with P&Ls up to $600 million in sales.  He left Cascades to join Atis as CEO where he remained two years, enacting important strategic, financial, and organizational changes while leading the company through the global pandemic. Benoit is a Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) and has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting from the University of Quebec in Montreal and a Certificate in Governance from Laval University, College of Corporate Directors.

Benoit will assume leadership of Velan’s global finance department, bringing along his complete finance and business leadership experience, which includes having carried out multiple M&A transactions throughout his career. John Ball will continue to act as interim CFO until June 1, and thereafter report to Benoit, resuming his previous role as EVP Global Finance, having previously served as Velan’s CFO for fifteen years.

Yves Leduc, CEO of Velan Inc., said, “On behalf of the Velan Family, the Board of Directors, and all Velan employees, I thank John Ball for his leadership and great support throughout the search process that led to Benoit Alain’s hiring. Benoit arrives at a time when Velan, a global leader with over seventy years of history and one of the strongest brands in our industry, is entering an exciting new phase in its history, focusing on growth. A true team player, he will bolster an already strong team of global senior executives that I am proud to lead, and his presence will immediately fuel our business and strategic aspirations. I welcome him and look forward to working with him to drive our growth while building on our recent successful transformation efforts.”

“I am very proud to join the Velan Family and look forward to collaborating with the management team in the ongoing transformation,” said Benoit Alain.

About Velan

Founded in Montreal in 1950, Velan Inc. (www.velan.com) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial valves, with sales of US$371.6 million in its last reported fiscal year. The Company employs over 1,775 people and has manufacturing plants in 9 countries. Velan Inc. is a public company with its shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VLN.

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