McGuigan resigns from wine post
Australian Vintage has announced its Chief Executive Neil McGuigan will stand down in November. McGuigan has been named International Winemaker of the Year a record four times at the International Wine and Spirits Competition. He will remain a technical advisor to the company he has been with since 2004.
Australian Vintage said he had helped make McGuigan the third largest selling wine brand in the UK. He said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as CEO, working with our talented team to create fantastic brands that are enjoyed around the globe.”
New dawn brewing under Typhoo boss
Des Kingsley will lead Typhoo Tea into a bold new era as CEO. He takes over from Somnath Saha who left in August last year after a difficult trading period. Kingsley said there will be re-focus on products across both brands and own-label. He has operated as a CEO and MD for almost 20 years and most recently managed Thanet Earth Ltd, the UK’s biggest single hi-tech glasshouse growing facility. Typhoo chairman Karan Paul said: “At a transformative time for the tea industry, Mr Kingsley’s appointment marks a new period of change for Typhoo.”
Departures at Bestway Wholesale
Tony Holmes has left his role as Bestway Wholesale retail director amid a company restructure.
Holmes, who had been promoted to the position from Sales Director in January, is not the only departure: Director of Retail and Own Label Trading Edward Smeaton has also left the business after three years. He has joined Lidl as its Head of Own Label and Brand Buying.
Unilever finance veteran joins Pladis
Pladis has appointed Sridhar Ramamurthy as its new Chief Financial Officer. Ramamurthy built a successful international finance career at Unilever spanning three decades. He held key leadership positions in emerging and mature markets, including India, Singapore and the UK. He was Finance Controller for Unilever’s largest region (Asia/Africa), and Chief Financial Officer for Hindustan Unilever Limited, the largest FMCG company in India.
CEO Salman Amin said: “He’s earned a reputation as a strong and versatile leader who has consistently demonstrated the financial and business acumen that makes him uniquely qualified to be our CFO.”
Pladis boasts McVitie’s, Jacobs, Carr’s and Ulker, among its portfolio.
Craft beer boss departs after five months
Andy Shaw has departed from BrewDog five months after joining the craft brewer as CEO of Beer. The former Redbull UK MD had been headhunted in February to a new role that was created to accelerate BrewDog’s global sales and marketing operations. Shaw said on his arrival he “could not pass up the opportunity to join such a dynamic team in the next phase of growth.”
According to Marketing Week, however, Shaw left because the business was not yet ready to replicate its phenomenal success overseas.
“BrewDog is an amazing business. But what became fairly obvious, it was too early in their evolution to have a CMO,” Shaw was quoted as saying. BrewDog CEO James Watt said: “We would like to thank Andy for all the hard work during his time with us and wish him all the best for the future.”
Youngs hires Seachill boss
Hot off the heels of its recent acquisition by the Karro Food Group, Young’s Seafood has named Simon Smith as its new CEO. Smith has vast experience across the food sector through senior roles at Diageo, Northern Foods and, recently, as MD of Seachill. He replaces Bill Showalter and starts in October.
