By James Atkinson
Yalumba-owned fine wine distributors Samuel Smith & Son (SS&S) and Negociants Australia (NA) have announced a number of changes to their management structure, with the upcoming move to Yalumba of Nick Waterman, who is currently executive director at SS&S.
Effective September 1, Waterman will become chief operating officer at Yalumba, where he will now work across all the company's business units, reporting into Yalumba proprietor and managing director of SS&S and NA, Robert Hill-Smith.
Hill-Smith told TheShout Waterman will first undertake an intensive review of the business, with an ongoing focus on strategy, financial modelling and future structures.
"This business that we are engaged in today is so turbulent, volatile and increasingly complex at the commercial end, that we rarely if ever get time to get ourselves away from the operational duties of the day to focus on higher level, longer term thinking," he said.
SS&S general manager Paul Midolo will replace Waterman as the new director of strategy and trading, while Negociants Australia general manager Adam O’Neill will take the helm at SS&S.
SS&S national business manager for Woolworths Liquor Group, Ken Withers, moves into the NA general manager role. Coles business manager Angus Hyde will take over the Woolworths business, while Coles will be managed by Tom Lovell, who will return to his hometown of Adelaide after several years with NA in Sydney.
“This is a formidable front row and it’s a pleasure to announce that almost each person achieving their promotion has come through our ranks in diverse roles,” Hill-Smith said.
“Each has shown intelligence, persistence, capacity for success through hard work and has delivered significant value to our family-owned company.”