tire on 31 March next year. “I have really enjoyed my time with the company, as well as the challenges over the years, and I am proud of its achievements,” he said.

Grant Ellis was appointed CFO in 1997 and leaves the business on 31 May 2023. He said “Restaurant Brands has been a big part of my life for the past 25 years and it has been a privilege to contribute to its growth and success over that time.”

Restaurant Brands is a corporate franchisee and specialises in managing multi-site branded food retail chains. Today the business operates 359 KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Carl’s Jr stores in New Zealand, Australia, California, and Hawaii. Restaurant Brands is also the master franchisor of 101 Pizza Hut stores in New Zealand.

CEO, CFO will be “greatly missed”

Chairman of the board, José Parés, said both Creedy and Ellis “have made an enormous contribution with their leadership and expertise to our company’s growth and transformation, and they will be greatly missed”.

Parés acknowledged their key role in the firm’s milestone of achieving more than one billion New Zealand dollars in sales for 2021.

After his retirement, Grant Ellis will serve as advisor to the RBD’s Chairman and new CFO, and Russel Creedy will serve as special advisor to Finaccess Capital and Subsidiaries, the majority shareholder of RBD.

The board of directors has announced it will start the search for a new CEO and CFO.

This story originally appeared on Inside Franchise Business Executive, and has been republished with permission.

The Estée Lauder Companies splits leadership in two

by Dean Blake

Global beauty firm The Estée Lauder Companies, which owns and operates health and beauty products across 150 markets, has announced it will split the business’ leadership across two larger portfolios.

The business will now have two executive group presidents, Jane Hertzmark Hudris and Stéphane de La Faverie, who will each focus on a specific cluster of brands within the business, reporting directly to chief executive officer Fabrizio Freda.

“This evolution further positions The Estée Lauder Companies’ brands to win with consumers in a complex and continuously changing beauty landscape, while elevating our internal talent bench and organisational planning to position us well to deliver on the company’s long-term strategy,” said Freda. 

“The strength of our portfolio reflects the strength of our leadership team, and this evolution leverages the track record and high potential of each leader to take our business to even greater heights in the future.”

Beyond those key changes, the business has also named a number of new global brand presidents across its brands: Justin Boxford at Estée Lauder, Sandra Main at La Mer and Bobbi Brown, Michelle Freyre at Clinique and Origins.

Four Pillars appoints head of global travel retail

by Dean Blake

Australian gin brand Four Pillars has named David Hogan as its director of global travel retail, starting 19 September. 

Hogan previously worked at Bacardi, where he operated as the business’ global travel retail regional manager for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, and will now focus on Four Pillars’ international growth.

“It’s a great time to be joining Australia’s best spirits brand,” said Hogan. “In my previous role I saw how fast the brand is growing, and how much Australians really love Four Pillars, and now we just need to spread that love further.”

Stuart Gregor, the business’ trade director and co-founder, said he is excited to see what Hogan will bring to the business given his experience in similar roles. 

“Before lockdowns we had entered the top ten gins across the globe in GTR in value terms, and we would like to find our way back to that spot again, and David will help us realise this ambition,” Gregor said. 

“We were lucky in a way to find David already back in Australia, as Covid saw him return to Australia and his native Queensland… He brings real excitement and energy to our business.”