SkinBioTherapeutics plc has appointed an interim CEO for the next six months as its former leader is investigated over concerns that he misrepresented results.
Rachel Parsonage, who currently runs her own advisory consultancy, has agreed to take the role on a temporary basis after former CEO Stuart Ashman resigned recently.
Alyson Levett, who only joined the company’s board and as chair of its audit committee in January, is overseeing a ‘forensic’ investigation into the actions of Ashman.
The Newcastle firm’s share price fell from 19.5 pence to almost 5p after the news broke of the potential misrepresentation and Ashman’s immediate resignation.
However it has since recovered to 9p at the time of writing (1.30pm), helped by a 12.5% jump today following news of Parsonage’s appointment.
Parsonage, of Alera Advisory, has over 25 years’ experience leading consumer beauty and wellness businesses through growth and change. She has held CEO and transformational level leadership roles across owned and licensed brand portfolios in both domestic and international markets.
Parsonage has been involved in financial and business model management, operations and inventory management, and the strengthening of corporate governance. She has also worked closely with boards, founders, lenders and partners to navigate periods of transition.
Before founding Alera, she was at KMI Brands for over 16 years, rising from managing director to chief executive, where she scaled and stabilised a portfolio of owned and licensed beauty brands.
Before then, she was MD at This Works, a premium British aromatherapy and skincare brand with UK and US focus, and previously, she was owner of Vita Management, an independent consultancy.
She has also served as general manager at Pacific Direct, a global hotel manufacturing amenity company providing brand development for hotels working with luxury brands, Elemis, Penhaligons and White Company.
Ashman (above), who joined in 2024, was briefly suspended by the listed Newcastle firm and he resigned soon afterwards. He is accused of inflating accrued royalty income recorded in the audited accounts for the year ended 30th June 2025.
This amounted to £770,000 and is now expected to be removed from the FY25 accounts, subject to confirmation by auditors, when they are restated.
FY25 revenue will become £3.87 million from the reported figure of £4.64m, while adjusted EBITDA for FY25 will be restated to a loss of £1.17m from the reported loss figure of £410,000, with an operating loss of £1.47m.
The board now anticipates that the results for the year ended 30th June 2026 will be significantly below current market expectations.
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Martin Hunt, who temporarily moved from non-executive to exec chairman following the news, said: “In the past few weeks, our aim has been to take decisive action to stabilise the business, including the search for a new interim CEO, while we undertake a thorough investigation to resolve the current issues.
“We are therefore delighted to welcome Rachel to the team as interim CEO. Her background matches our immediate requirements exactly; she has over 32 years in total in the consumer and wellness sector, with a clear track record of stabilising brands and companies, managing stakeholders including partners, and driving sales and IP commercialisation.
“This appointment is one part of our plan to resolve the current issues as quickly as possible. With respect to the forensic investigation, we are balancing the thoroughness of an investigation within a clear cost-benefit framework, to remove any uncertainty around the business’ future.
“We want SkinBioTherapeutics to get back on track, move forward and focus on accelerating its growth again.”
Ashman was appointed in 2024, succeeding Professor Cath O’Neill, with over two decades of commercial healthcare experience – primarily in the medical devices industry.
Since 2014, he had served as CEO of Onbone, a Finnish private equity-backed medical device company. Prior to that, Ashman was president and CEO of Andover Healthcare, a US-based wound management manufacturer and president and CEO of TI Group, a UK-based medical/engineering company.
Last year the company welcomed a new COO and board member in Simon Hewitson, a former CEO of Polar Krush Group.
Emily Bertram was also appointed as the group’s finance director in a non-board capacity following the departure of Manprit Randhawa.
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