Foster’s CEO to depart with a golden handshake
The incoming owner of Foster’s has immediately put its stamp on the brewer, appointing one of its top operators to replace CEO John Pollaers.
SABMiller and John Pollaers have agreed that he will step down on 16 December 2011, making way for Ari Mervis. SABMiller is set to formally take control of Foster’s that day.
To ensure a smooth transition Mr Pollaers will be available to provide advice to SABMiller during the first few months of 2012.
The South-African born Mr Mervis will leave his Hong Kong-based post as Asian Director with SABMiller, to live in Melbourne.
Mr Mervis will have the dual titles of Foster’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Asia-Pacific, keeping responsibility for SABMiller’s expansion into China, where its Snow brand is already the top-selling beer, media reports say.
He will also be responsible for implementing SABMiller’s strategy in the Russian market.
Mr Mervis is no stranger to Australia. He lived in Sydney for 18 months from 2006 when he helped establish the Pacific Beverages joint venture with Coca-Cola Amatil, which then handled the marketing of imports including Peroni and Grolsch.
Mr Pollaers, who is set to collect a golden handshake of about AUD 5.6 million (USD 5.7 million) after less than two years on the job, comprising a year’s base salary of AUD 711,000 plus AUD 4.9 million in lieu of shares issued under the company’s long-term incentive scheme, has wasted no time promoting himself to prospective employers.
In his farewell email to Foster’s employees – which was circulated widely as probably was intended – he once more underlined his achievements.
“My departure,” he wrote, “will not be a surprise to many of you who know me well. I have always made it clear that my passion is to be CEO of a large public company. Being CEO of Foster’s and Managing Director of CUB has been the highlight of my career and I can only hope that the next company I lead will be filled with as talented and dedicated people as we have here at Foster’s.”
He went on to list his successes: “We’ve halted an eight-year decline in our market share when nearly everyone said it wasn’t possible. We’ve rejuvenated CUB’s brands with fresh marketing, industry-leading innovation and a sales team focused on results. We’ve restructured the business to make it more efficient and productive, and less bureaucratic.”
“Most importantly, this team has started believing in itself and we’ve embraced our heritage and refocused on beer and cider. We’ve started believing that what we do matters and makes a difference in the lives of Australians every day. We now fundamentally believe that if a whole lot more people raised a beer in friendship, the world would be a better place,” he concluded.
No doubt, Foster’s employees felt proud reading this.
Meanwhile, SABMiller has established an integration team and will conduct a strategic review of the Foster’s business in the first 12 months of ownership.
Until that process is complete, Mr Mervis reportedly said it was impossible to say whether the company will shut down Foster’s ageing brewery operation in Melbourne’s inner-suburban Abbotsford and build a new brewery elsewhere – a move long speculated upon by analysts.
No decision has been made either on whether SABMiller will retain Foster’s Melbourne headquarters, which it still shares with former wine division Treasury Wine Estates, following the demerger in May 2011.
