By Andrew Starke
The Foster’s Group has confirmed a number of board and management appointments ahead of the likely demerger of its beer and wine operations in the first half of 2011.
In May 2010 the company announced that it intended to pursue a structural separation to create separate stock exchange listings for beer and wine subject to a detailed evaluation of the issues, costs and benefits to Foster’s shareholders and a myriad of other factors.
While this process is ongoing, Foster’s has undertaken a process to confirm the senior leadership teams for the beer (Foster’s) and Wine (Treasury Wine Estates) businesses post demerger, including determining the future positions of the current directors of Foster’s.
If the demerger proceeds, the Boards of Foster’s and Treasury Wine Estates will include:
- Foster’s – David Crawford AO (Chairman); Michael Ullmer; Paul Clinton
- Treasury Wine Estates – Max Ould (Chairman); Lyndsey Cattermole AM
It is also expected that further non-executive directors will be announced prior to any demerger proposal being submitted to shareholders.
After a market search and an assessment process, the nominations for the CEO positions in the event that the demerger proceeds are:
- Foster’s – John Pollaers
- Treasury Wine Estates – David Dearie
The current CEO of Foster’s, Ian Johnston, will leave the company once the demerger is completed.
“I congratulate David and John on their nominations and look forward to working with them over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition through the demerger process,” he said.
“David and John will now focus on confirming their senior leadership teams and realising the full potential of both the wine and beer businesses.”
Pollaers said that, after 20 years in the drinks industry, he was pleased and delighted to be offered this opportunity at CUB.
“With beer back proudly at the heart of our business, we’ve made great recent progress at Carlton & United Breweries,” he said.
“To re-establish CUB as a dedicated brewer is a unique and challenging task and my team and myself are up for the challenge.”