Goodman Fielder (ASX:GFF) is on the hunt for a new chief financial officer after Shane Gannon announced he will quit the post to become the new CFO of property giant, Mirvac Group (ASX:MGR).
Gannon remains as CFO with the food company until December, and will assist with the transition to a new CFO.
Gannon joined Goodman Fielder in November 2011 and was previously CFO at CSR Limited. His resume includes 10 years with Lend Lease Group, where he served as CFO and general manager of finance for the group’s corporate, property and financial services groups. He has also held various executive director’s roles including with CSR and Nover Europe, and is also a director at Novera Macquarie Renewable Energy. He was CEO of Novera Energy until October 2005.
His appointment at Mirvac comes after former Mirvac group finance chief, Greg Dyer, quit his post after just eight months. He was expected to stay in the role until September.
Mirvac CEO and managing director, Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, said Gannon’s experience as an ASX-listed CFO and past history in the property sector were key factors in his appointment.
“His breadth of experience across sectors, his strong financial acumen and his demonstrated understanding of domestic and international financial markets will be of great value to Mirvac as we continue to execute on our strategy and deliver strong returns to securityholders,” she said.
In a statement, Goodman Fielder managing director, Chris Delaney, highlighted Gannon’s contribution to the company’s growth strategy and strengthening the company’s financial position as key achievements.
“Shane has been a valued member of our executive team and played an important role in ensuring Goodman Fielder now has the financial capacity to reinvest in our business and brands and support our strategic growth agenda,” Delaney said.
“Having successfully executed that part of the strategy, Shane has decided to accept an executive role back in the property sector, where he commence his career and has extensive experience.”
In its recent full-year financial report, Goodman Fielder reported a net profit of $102.5 million, compared with a loss of $146.9m the previous year, and a 21 per cent rise in normalised EBIT from continuing operations over the second half of the financial year over the first half. Total revenue for the year was $2.22bn.
The organisation also reduced net debt by 40 per cent over the same period to $34.5m, and has divested several non-core businesses including Integro and NZ Milling. Its Project Renaissance achieved $65m in annualised cost savings this year, and is on track to deliver $100m in annualised savings by the 2015 financial year, according to the financial report.
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