Foster's CEO calls last orders
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Foster's chief Ted Kunkel has announced his decision to quit the global brewer and will be replaced before the end of the June financial year.
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SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Ted Kunkel, head of global brewing giant Foster's, has announced his decision to resign.
Kunkel, the president and chief executive of Foster's, will leave the position before the end of 2004, giving the company time to find a successor.
Foster's said Monday the board expected to name Kunkel's successor before the end of Foster's June financial year.
Shares in Foster's are lower in Monday afternoon trade, down about 0.5 percent to A$4.31. That compares with a gain of 0.6 percent for the broader market, measured by the S&P/ASX200.
The company's beer brands include Foster's, VB, Carlton and Cascade. Its wine labels include Wolf Blass, Yellowglen and Beringer.
Foster's chairman Frank Swan said the move was not a surprise.
"There is an advanced succession plan in progress with internal and external candidates being considered," Swan said.
"Both the board and Ted are of the common view that the next generation of management to take Foster's forward should be in place by the end of 2004."
Swan praised Kunkel's achievements during a 12-year stint in which he led the company in turbulent times.
"Ted Kunkel has been an outstanding leader, guiding the company through recovery, restructuring and strategy development phases, and in the process re-establishing the credibility of the group."
His resignation comes after the company posted a 17 percent drop in its full-year profit to Aust. $463 million in August last year after restructuring and writedowns.
Mr Kunkel told CNN at the time the group's normalised net profit was up 9 percent to A$626.7 million and Foster's was generating superior cash-flows to its rivals.
Last November, Kunkel moved to cement Foster's market performance, buying back almost A$900 million of shares in the group.
After making that purchase, Kunkel said he did not see "bolt-on acquisitions playing a major role in the coming years".
The company spent $1.6 billion in 2000 to acquire the US-based wine company, Beringer.
Kunkel was also responsible for selling assets that were not deemed sufficiently strategic. Under his stewardship, the company shed Molson Breweries in Canada, as well as under-performing assets in the United Kingdom, such as Courage Brewing and Inntrepreneur Pub Company Ltd.
