Louis Farrugia to step down as Farsons CEO in a year

Louis Farrugia will step down as CEO of the Farsons Group in about a year, he told The Times Business.

Last week Farsons announced that Norman Aquilina, currently Chief Commercial Officer of the Farsons' Group is to be appointed CEO Designate as from July 1.

Mr Farrugia said that the appointment of a CEO Designate has been in the pipeline for quite some time.

"The target is for Mr Aquilina to take over as CEO in a year's time as the transition has to be properly planned," he said.

Mr Farrugia said he will continue to chair the Group Executive Board.

"Besides the appointment of a CEO Designate there have been a number of other changes at senior management level at Farsons as quite a few top executives at the group are, like me, approaching 60," he said.

He said he has known Mr Aquilina, who he described as having a deep understanding of commercial matters, for the past 15 years. "He played key roles in the acquisition of Quintano by Farsons as well as the gaining of the Danone brand," he said.

Asked what advice he would give Mr Aquilina, Mr Farrugia replied: "Be yourself, don't try to emulate anyone else. Your choice of management appointments is very important and you must try and balance your work with your lifestyle."

This is the first time in Farsons' history that a non-family member is to occupy the top job at the group. Mr Farrugia said that Farsons is a professional company and its management is run by professional people. He added: "I took over the company aged 28 which is far too young. I would not recommend a similar appointment today as it would not be fair on the individual. Norman Aquilina is 46 and given his age and experience he is ideally suited to take over as CEO."

Norman Aquilina joined the Farsons Group as managing director of Quintano Foods, the food importation business which he ran and which the group acquired in 2004. In 2007, he was appointed Chief Commercial Officer and has since successfully introduced and led a number of projects and initiatives as a result of the liberalisation of the carbonated soft drinks market and the setting up of Farsons' Logistics Centre.

Mr Aquilina is a past senior vice-president of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise and is currently the chairman of the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Trade Section within the Chamber. He is a former board member of the Malta External Trade Corporation, a member of the EU's Enterprise Policy Group and is a graduate in international trade and holds a diploma in business management.

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc is the producing arm of the group, brewing "own" brand beers and international beers under licence, producing "own" brand soft drinks as well as other international soft drinks under licence and table water, juices and juice drinks.

Other companies within the group include Food Chain (Holdings) Ltd which is mainly engaged in the fast food and casual dining business with franchises such as Burger King, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken, Farsons Beverage Imports Company Ltd which imports and distributes wines, spirits and beers and Quintano Foods Ltd, a long established leader in the marketing and distribution of branded food products.