José Maria Palencia to leave WDF
By Doug Newhouse |
The World Duty Free Group has announced that its CEO José Maria Palencia Saucedo is leaving the company this year.
Company Chairman Gianmario Tondato said this has resulted from differences in opinion on strategic matters, as he explained in an official statement: “Whilst agreeing on the basic objectives, the Company and its CEO came to have differing opinions on how to implement the strategy and this led to their considering the possibility of parting ways.”
WDFG said that Palencia has agreed to support the transition and will continue to maintain his position and powers granted to him by the Board until his departure.
Commenting, Palencia (left) said: “After nine years as CEO, first at Aldeasa and then at World Duty Free, I believe it’s now time, one year on from listing, to set myself new challenges. I wish to thank everyone who works in this splendid group for their commitment, loyalty and the great results we have achieved together”.
In last night’s statement, the Board of Directors of World Duty Free said it will examine the matter at a meeting already scheduled for 2nd October 2014 and ‘shall resolve upon the Group’s organizational structure and the termination of the powers granted to the CEO, following an evaluation carried out by the Board itself and its internal committees’.
‘FAR MORE THAN A COLLEAGUE…’
Company Chairman Gianmario Tondato said: “José Maria has been far more than a colleague over the years: his work has been vital to the creation of a Group that is now one of the main operators in the global Travel Retail & Duty Free market.”
The company added that in the last few months the Group has been conducting a strategic review of its growth opportunities while examining the acceleration of processes, integration and efficiency within the organisation.
As a result, it says that a new impetus will be put on business development through both organic growth and pursuing business combinations with other operators. It adds that the demerger from Autogrill was ‘the first step towards creating the conditions for achieving such a strategy’.
The company added that further integration of platforms in Europe, recovery of profitability in Spain and acceleration of the integration of the American travel retail business are the main steps to sustain growth, improving margins and therefore cash generation.
At the end of the Board meeting of 2 October 2014 there will be a conference call with the financial community focusing on the Group’s strategic growth objectives and the efficiency and integration programmes, as well as clarification regarding the new organizational model.
Company Chairman Gianmario Tondato.
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