Investors bet on Tiger Brands’ new boss
The Tiger Brands share price jumped after the company announced that Lawrence MacDougall will be the new chief executive.
|||Johannesburg - The Tiger Brands share price jumped after the company announced that Lawrence MacDougall would be the new chief executive to take over from the already departed Peter Matlare.
The shares rose 4.36 percent to close at R318.80 yesterday, having peaked at R321.80 during the day.
Read: Tiger Brands rallies on new CEO
Matlare had resigned last September. Board member Noel Doyle has been acting as chief executive ever since.
Tiger Brands, the maker of popular South African brands such as Tastic rice, Jungle Oats, All Gold and Albany bread, has a market capitalisation of more than R60.18 billion.
MacDougall joins South Africa’s largest food producer at a time when the country’s economy is under pressure.
The company reported a 51 percent decrease in net profit published in the company’s annual results for the year to September.
Andre Parker, the group’s chairman, said that the new chief executive’s starting date would be finalised at the end of this month.
“We are delighted with the appointment of Lawrence MacDougall and are confident of his abilities to lead the organisation and to deliver on the strategic objectives of Tiger Brands.
“We have found an exceptional new chief executive in Lawrence, who has sound commercial and strategic acumen, the demonstrated ability to lead extensive growth and business turnaround strategies and the leadership skills to develop strong integrated teams that deliver continuous sustainable performance.
“Lawrence MacDougall has in-depth business experience, successfully leading complex local and multinational organisations in challenging environments across Africa, the Middle East, eastern Europe and Russia,” said Parker.
MacDougall’s appointment also received thumbs up from analysts of the sector.
Chito Siame, an equity analyst at Mergence Investment Management, said: “The appointment looks solid. Lawrence MacDougall comes out of Mondelez, formerly Kraft Foods, a food processing giant with iconic brands.
“He seems like a guy that will hit the ground running. He also has a lot of deal-making experience which is positive for the company in my view.”
Brad Preston, the chief investment officer at Mergence, also said the incoming chief executive was no stranger in the South African community. “I think the other key issue is that he has previous experience in the fast moving consumer goods space in South Africa.”
BUSINESS REPORT