FDBusiness.com

SABMiller has announced a number of senior management and organisational changes that will become effective over the coming months, as it consolidates its South African and African regions for management purposes.

SABMiller’s beer and soft drinks operations on the African continent have expanded significantly over the past six years, with volumes growing from 25 million hectolitres in 2009 to 37 million hectolitres in 2013, and EBITA from US$562 million to US$838 million over the same period.

Norman Adami will stand down as Chairman of SABMiller Beverages South Africa with effect from 1 July 2014, and will be retiring from the group with effect from 31 July 2014.

With effect from 1 July 2014, Mark Bowman, currently Managing Director of SABMiller Africa, will become Managing Director of the enlarged SABMiller Africa region.

Mauricio Leyva, currently the Managing Director of Beer South Africa, will become Chairman and Managing Director of SAB Ltd in South Africa, reporting to Mark Bowman.

John Ustas, the Managing Director of Amalgamated Beverage Industries, the group’s South African soft drinks business, will also report to Mark Bowman.

Alan Clark, chief executive of SABMiller, comments: “As we look to capitalise on our global scale and presence, we see significant advantages in managing all of our African businesses as one region. We believe there is strong potential for profitable growth in both beer and total beverages in Africa, and, by harnessing the skills of our South African and African business in a combined Africa region, we believe that we will be better placed to access growth prospects across the entire continent.”