Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) managing director and chief executive officer Michael Clarke will be retiring from the roles in the first quarter of 2020-21 with the company announcing its chief operating officer Tim Ford will replace him as CEO.
Providing TWE with approximately one year’s notice, Clarke intends to return to the UK upon his retirement following an extensive transition period to focus on spending time with his family. He has agreed to act as an advisor to the company for up to an additional one-year period, to provide strategic support across key initiatives including potential merger and acquisition opportunities.
In announcing the changes, TWE chairman Paul Rayner commented, “it is without question the extraordinary transformation and outstanding financial returns that TWE has achieved, have been driven by Michael’s leadership over the past five and a half years. The structural changes and initiatives delivered by Michael and his team have established TWE as a significantly stronger business than when he first joined the company, and one that is very well placed to continue delivering sustainable, margin accretive growth well into the future. I, along with the board, would like to sincerely thank Michael for his tremendous character and exceptional contribution to our company, and for his ongoing support during the transition period”.
“Tim has worked alongside Michael, and in a diverse range of executive leadership roles at TWE for the past eight years. As chief operating officer, he has been running the operation of all TWE regions since January 2019, and prior to that as deputy chief operating officer ran the Asia, Europe and ANZ regions. His depth and breadth of experience within our business is therefore well proven. I am confident he is a strong leader to take TWE into its next exciting phase. We have an excellent executive leadership team in place and the company’s five-year strategic plans demonstrate that the best years are still to come. I look forward to seeing the positive momentum in the company continue,” Rayner said.
