Coca-Cola Amatil has announced that its chief executive Terry Davis will retire in August 2014 after almost 13 years running the beverage group.
The news follows 18 months of speculation over his departure and comes ahead of a push to expand the group's Indonesian business and a move back into the Australian beer market.
CCA is prevented from re-entering the Australian beer market until December this year after selling its Pacific Beverage’s joint venture to Foster’s.
Last month a spokeswoman said that Davis would be group managing director at least until the end of 2013. CCA chairman, David Gonski, said in a statement today that he was very pleased Davis would remain as group managing director until the end of August 2014.
“The next 18 months will be crucial for CCA in the further development of its alcoholic beverage strategy and the accelerated plans for growth of the Indonesian business and the board felt it was prudent to provide the market with certainty as to Terry’s tenure,” he said.
Gonski said that Davis had so far made a “significant and lasting contribution in transforming CCA into a world-class, premium multi-beverage business” in his 11 years at the helm to date.
“The market capitalisation of CCA has increased from $3.5 billion to $11.4 billion, group return on capital has increased from just over seven per cent in 2001 to 24 per cent today, generating total shareholder returns of nearly 400 per cent,” Gonski said.
The CCA board will form a subcommittee over the coming months to appoint his replacement.
Gonski said both internal and external candidates would be considered.
Potential successors are expected to include Warwick White, the head of the Australasian business, and John Murphy, a former chief executive of CUB who was appointed managing director of Australian beverages in July.
“The board will seek to ensure an orderly transition during 2014 to the new group managing director and I very much look forward to working with Terry over the next 18 months,” Gonski said.
