Berry Bros & Rudd restructures board

Berry Bros. & Rudd has restructured its board of directors, and launched a new ‘Family Board’, following the retirement of 90-year old former MD and chairman John Randall Rudd.

Rudd joined the company as a non-executive in August 1944, becoming a full-time employee in 1948 after military service. He was managing director from 1965, and became chairman in 1985, stepping down fifteen years later in 2000. Chairman Simon Berry paid tribute to his 72 years on the board, saying his contribution to the success of Berry Bros. & Rudd could not be overestimated.

As records at Companies House revealed, Rudd stepped down along with Philip Bowman, the former chief executive of Allied Domecq, who is also retiring after nine years as a non-executive director, creative director Geordie Willis, and David Berry Green, the former buyer who now heads up the Italian venture of BBR’s UK agency business, Fields, Morris & Verdin.

The move is part of a simplification of the executive board of directors, which is being streamlined from 12 to 8 members, a spokesman confirmed. It also paves the way for a new Family Board which intends to integrate the family within the business, in line with the aims of its management shake-up in March 2015.

Willis and Berry Green will join the new Family Board, alongside Elizabeth, Edward and Richard Rudd, and Berry Green’s two sisters Clare Rodger and Emma Marsh. Members of the younger generation will be invited to join in due course, the spokesman confirmed.

The new streamlined executive board will comprise eight board directors – two senior executive directors, CEO Dan Jago and CFO Chris Robinson, three members of the family, chairman Simon Berry, deputy chairman Elizabeth Rudd, and director of transformation Edward Rudd and two non-executives, Richard Moyse, and Sir Simon Robertson.

The wine merchant has made a number of changes in personnel over the last 18 months.

Last week it announced Laithwaite’s Group operations director Kevin Hanley was joining the company as the new operations, logistics and IT director, responsible for improving operational efficiency, having experience implementing a joined up approach to supply and customer service.

CFO Robinson joined the company in January, being formally appointed a director on 17 March according to records filed at Companies House. He was previously group finance planning director at Tesco.

COO and International MD Jeremy Parsons stepped down from his role at the end of May, being replaced by COO of BBR Spirits Natalie Tennent, while wine writer Will Lyons was appointed as a ‘senior fine wine executive’ in a newly created division for the merchant’s top clients earlier this year.

Former Tesco BWS boss Jago joined BBR as CEO in October 2015, as part of a new leadership structure for the London wine merchant. It followed a managerial shake-up in March 2015 which saw the departure of former md Hugh Sturges.