Raymond Ackerman to retire as PnP chairman
Oct 22 2009
Retail Wrap >>

Raymond Ackerman will be retiring as chairman of Pick n Pay Stores - effective 1 March 2010 - after a 43-year-long career with the company, he announced on, Wednesday, 21 October 2009. Ackerman will, however, still perform an ambassadorial role for the retail giant, staying on as an advisor to the company and based at its head office in Cape Town.

Pick n Pay Holdings (Pikwik) chairman Gareth Ackerman (52) has been confirmed by the board as the new non-executive chairman of Pick n Pay Stores Ltd. The position has been changed to a non-executive one in line with corporate governance recommendations.

Said Ackerman (snr): “In March next year, I will be in my 80th year. The company under CEO Nick Badminton has done some incredible forward planning and the strategic direction taken by the company has resulted in a five year plan that is both remarkable and very confident. These plans include our rollout of SAP, our move to centralised distribution, our franchise conversions producing new black ownership, the rollout of our new brand and our focus on sustainability.

He believes Ackerman (jnr) to be a prime candidate to take the reins of the company, as he "has spent most of his life with Pick n Pay" in various positions - from buying and store management, to becoming joint MD, the first MD of Group Enterprises and deputy chairman.

"He has also spent the last ten years consulting and doing corporate finance through his company and has achieved wide ranging experience outside of the company, including lecturing around the world and as an Associate Fellow at the Said Business School at the University of Oxford. He has also played a leadership role in the global Consumer Goods Forum (CIES) for many years. This external and global perspective will greatly assist him in his tasks as Chairman of Pick n Pay Stores. He has played a key role in the building of the Ackerman Pick n Pay Foundations and has worked extensively in building sustainable agricultural projects in Southern Africa."

"We are unashamedly a family controlled but professionally managed company with a very strong focus on corporate governance. I believe this has been a core strength of the company and has always allowed us - to the benefit of all Pick n Pay Stores and Holdings shareholders - to take a long term view of the company instead of focusing on immediate- or- short-term returns. The annual compound growth of the group over this period attests to validity of the implementation of long term strategy. An investor who put R100 into the business on listing in 1968 would today have just about R1 million - a compound annual growth of 25.3%. Being family controlled has also ensured that the values introduced in 1967 have carried through over 42 years. Importantly, this will not change."

Adapted from Source: www.bizcommunity.com, 21 October 2009