Pick ‘n Pay chairperson Raymond Ackerman confirmed on Tuesday that company CEO Sean Summers would be succeeded by current retail MD Nick Badminton in March 2007. Summers will have spent 34 years at the company and eleven years at the helm.
Summers (53) joined Pick ‘n Pay as a trainee manager in 1974. He was appointed deputy MD in 1993, retail MD in 1995 and group managing director and CEO in 1999.
Said Summers: “After 33 years” service and eleven years as MD and CEO, I decided that as the company enters its next stage of evolution, I’d like to use the opportunity to take a step back, assess my personal and professional life, the various opportunities open to me and take a bit of a break after February. In keeping with good governance, the company has been planning my succession since I was first appointed and given that I need some new challenges, it seemed fair to the company that I hand over to my successor at the year end.
“This is a very smooth succession. Nick has been Retail MD since 2001 and we have worked shoulder to shoulder for much longer than that.
“Nick has been with the company for 27 years and his performance as MD of retail has been exemplary. Since becoming retail MD in 2001, we have seen our core retail division producing strong earnings growth under his stewardship.
“Nick and his management team have concentrated on evolving Pick ‘n Pay and increasing its footprint at the same time. Greater numbers of both corporate and franchise stores have given us greater exposure to the market in some key areas, and franchising has consistently delivered strong performances.
Chairperson Raymond Ackerman said: “The average tenure of a CEO is between five and seven years and Sean has been at the helm for 11. He has earned the right
to make this decision, after a period of particularly good growth and vastly increased shareholder value for the company under his leadership.”
“We embarked on a restructuring exercise over a decade ago, which separated the family’s interest from the professional operation of Pick ‘n Pay. In 1998, the roles of chairman and chief executive at Pick ‘n Pay were separated. The depth of management within Pick ‘n Pay has allowed us to plan succession very effectively and we are pleased that Nick will become Pick ‘n Pay’s new CEO with effect from March.”
Badminton (45) joined Pick ‘n Pay in 1979 as a trainee manager. He became GM of the Western Cape in 1994, was appointed to the retail board in 1998 and became retail MD in 2001.
Said Badminton: “I have been understudying Sean for some years and have been fortunate enough to work under one of South Africa’s leading chief executives. I could not have asked for a better mentor and leader and of course, I am delighted to be succeeding him.”
Said Ackerman: “During Sean’s tenure as CEO, the company has performed incredibly well. He has received a number of business and industry awards and has led the company through some critical milestones, including the extortion crisis we faced in 2003, our entry into Australia in 2001 and the acquisition of Boxer in 2002 and the pending acquisition of Fruit & Veg City in 2006.
“Nick is a very worthy successor to Sean and will be working closely with him over the next six months. – I-Net Bridge