The board of SABMiller intends to appoint Mr du Plessis as Chairman in succession to John Manser at the conclusion of the annual general meeting in July 2015, when Mr Manser will, as previously intimated, retire from the board, having deferred his previously expected retirement date for one year. This will allow for an appropriate period of familiarisation and handover, and facilitate orderly succession planning. Mr du Plessis will also join the Nomination Committee with effect from 1 September 2014.
Mr du Plessis, aged 60, is chairman of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited, having been appointed to that role in 2009, following his appointment as a director in 2008. He has been a non-executive director of Marks and Spencer Group plc since 2008 and senior independent director since March 2012. Mr du Plessis has agreed with the Chairman of Marks and Spencer that he will stand down from the board of Marks and Spencer during the first half of 2015, before being appointed as Chairman of SABMiller.
In his earlier career, Mr du Plessis was Group Finance Director of Compagnie Financière Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods group, from 1988 until 2004. He was appointed as a non-executive director of British American Tobacco plc in 1999 and became Chairman in 2004, a position which he held until 2009. He was a non-executive director and chairman of the audit committee of Lloyds Banking Group plc from 2005 and 2008 respectively, until 2009.
He has degrees in commerce and law from the University of Stellenbosch, and qualified as a chartered accountant in South Africa.
Commenting on this appointment, Mr John Manser, Chairman of SABMiller plc, said: “I am delighted that Jan has agreed to join the board. He has not only an excellent record as a chairman of major international groups with developing markets footprints, but also a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of international consumer businesses. I look forward to working with Jan over the coming months before handing on the chairmanship next July.”
Jan du Plessis commented: “I have tremendous admiration for the way in which SABMiller has transformed itself over the last decade into one of the world’s leading brewers. With a life-time of experience in the world of international consumer brands, joining the board of SABMiller is simply one of the most natural decisions I could ever hope to make. I am honoured to have been invited, and very excited about the future of this great company.”
About SABMiller plc
SABMiller plc is in the beer and soft drinks business. We are the world’s second largest brewing company and are one of the world’s largest bottlers of Coca-Cola drinks. We also produce a portfolio of wholly-owned soft drinks brands.
We are a FTSE-20 company, with shares trading on the London Stock Exchange, and we have a secondary listing on the Johannesburg stock exchange. We operate in more than 80 countries with around 70,000 employees.
The group’s brand portfolio includes leading local brands such as Aguila (Colombia), Castle (South Africa), Miller Lite (USA), Snow (China), Victoria Bitter (Australia) and Tyskie (Poland) as well as global brands such as Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Miller Genuine Draft and Grolsch. Every minute of every day, more than 140,000 bottles of SABMiller beer are sold.
- Disclaimer - News, data, and statements included in this release are intended exclusively for general information purposes. Talent4Boards does not guarantee that news is accurate or about the correct person and accepts neither liability for the consequences of the reader’s reliance, nor responsibility for the accuracy of the information. Nothing in this release should be considered for decisions about referred securities. Products and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
