By James Atkinson
Coles Liquor boss Tony Leon has announced several new management appointments to his team as he acknowledged the challenging retail conditions facing the company.
The latest appointments follow Coles' recent announcement that former Rudd Government staffer Andrew Charlton had joined the liquor division.
Leon announced the promotion of general manager liquor strategy, George Wright, to the role of general manager of merchandise, with responsibility for Beer, Wine, Spirits and Liquor Supply Chain.
Meanwhile, Thinus Keeve has moved across from the Supermarket Operations team to become general manager liquor operations.
"In this role, Thinus will lead our Liquorland, 1st Choice and Vintage Cellars Operations, as well as the Operations Support team under the direction of Curtis Field," Leon said.
Leon added that Grant Ramage will take on the new role of General Manager Projects, to ensure greater focus and direction is provided to the ongoing integration of enterprise resource planning initiative Project M-AX.
"As we are all aware, we’re currently facing a challenging retail market, so we have made some changes to ensure that we are focused in our approach, continue to benefit from the talent within our team and create further opportunities for success," Leon told staff.
"George, Thinus, Andrew and Grant will be part of my core leadership team, along with Andrew Charlton."