Update: Judges Scientific (JDG)

Today, Judges announced that Mark Lavelle, COO of Judges is retiring in September 2026 (at the age of 68). Mark will therefore be stepping down from the board this upcoming May 2025 with the board election.

It is clearly a loss to see Mark retire. He was formerly a Sector CEO at Halma and briefly headed up Halma’s M&A so Mark was a potential CEO successor to David Cicurel who is 74 years old.

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With that said, providing 1.5 years notice and 2 recent Director hirings in Tim Prestige and Ian Wilcox mean Judges has a deep bench.

My questions are:

• The press release mentioned an executive committee. I’m curious to know the rationale for this and how this will evolve.
• Will Judges hire another COO to replace Mark?
• Will there be more clarify longer-term on a potential successor for Judges?

While Marks’ retirement is clearly a loss, this was very well telegraphed, significant notice was provided, and two senior executives were hired well in advance of this announcement.