SABMiller CFO Malcolm Wyman calls it a day
It may be the dawn of a new era at SABMiller with SABMiller’s Chief Financial Officer Malcolm Wyman retiring at the end of August to be replaced by internal candidate James Wilson, 51, who currently works as finance director at SABMiller Europe. Not only does the personnel change announced on 4 May 2011 throw the spotlight on when Chief Executive Graham Mackay decides to retire. The London Financial Times says that that Mr Mackay, 61, is widely expected to retire in the next year or two.
It also underlines a broader shift at the world’s number two brewer.
Mr Wyman leaves after 25 years at SABMiller, becoming CFO in 2001 some two years after the group’s listing in London.
While Mr Wyman has shown he is a dab hand at Merger & Acquisition financing, Mr Wilson seems to be more operationally focused. Mr Wilson, has worked in the global drinks industry for 23 years in a range of roles from finance director of Famous Grouse scotch whisky group Highland Distillers, then moving to brewer Scottish and Newcastle before joining SABMiller in 2005.
The big initiative for SABMiller now is to get its business capability programme up and running, which is more a story of getting efficiencies right.
SABMiller’s business capability programme, launched in 2009, centralises a number of functions that had been devolved to the various regional heads, and standardises other functions.
Some analysts think that Mr Wilson’s appointment signals that SABMiller will be more focused on organic growth than on M&A on the near future, although that does not necessarily rule out some acquisitions – as announced by Mr Mackay at the end of March 2011.
Investors are waiting to see how the subsequent succession develops, and whether the brewer will appoint an external candidate as CEO – possibly from a fast-moving consumer goods background as is all the rage among brewers these days – when Mr Mackay stands down.
In the past the company preferred to promote its regional heads to the top spots to keep it all in the family, so to speak.
Mr Mackay, has been at the group’s helm since the brewer moved to London. Judging from the interviews he has given in recent months he shows no sign of wanting to step down.
