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Cape Town - Famous Brands [JSE:FBR] CEO Kevin Hedderwick on Tuesday announced his retirement after 16 years of service.
“It is fair to say that over the past 16 years of my life this business has been all-consuming,” said Hedderwick, who built one of the country’s top companies. “I am satisfied that we have achieved the strategic and operational ambitions I formulated at the outset of my tenure.”
“I derived enormous satisfaction and reward from identifying and developing entrepreneurial businesses and I hope to pursue that interest in a range of capacities in the future,” he said in a statement.
Hedderwick, who will retire on 29 February 2016, will remain on as a strategic advisor for 12 months to ensure the smooth transition to new CEO, Darren Hele.
Hedderwick joined the group in 2000 as managing director of Steers. In 2001, he was appointed chief operating officer of the group, a position he held until his appointment as group chief executive in 2010.
Famous Brands is made up of 25 brands represented by a franchise network of 2 545 restaurants across South Africa, the rest of Africa, the United Kingdom and the Middle East. Its business model is underpinned by substantial logistics and manufacturing operations.
Some of the brands include Wimpy, Mugg & Bean, Europa, Tashas, Vovo Telo, Steers, Debonairs Pizza, Fishaways, Milky Lane and Wakaberry.
Under Hedderwick’s stewardship, the business has delivered a significant increase in profitability through both organic and acquisitive growth, and has consistently ensured excellent returns to shareholders, said Panagiotis Halamandaris, on behalf of the founding family, which has a 29% stake in the company.
The company was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in November 1994 at a price of R1 per share.
“Since his appointment in 2000, the group’s share price has increased from R1.69 per share to R141.53 per share, equating to a growth in market capitalisation from R105m to R14bn,” said Halamandaris.
“The past two decades have witnessed the group expand almost beyond recognition from the business it was then, comprising only the Steers brand and a limited supply chain component, to the enterprise it is now, with a market capitalisation in excess of R11bn, positioned within the JSE’s top 100 companies,” Famous Brands said.
Hele, currently the chief executive of food services, was chosen as the successor after “intensive consideration over the past year”, the board said.
“We are confident that the strong foundations laid over the past 16 years will ensure that under Darren’s leadership the business will continue to flourish,” said Halamandaris.
“With Darren’s appointment, the board is satisfied that the planned management transition will be seamless and will ensure the business is optimally prepared for the next phase of its growth,” said chairperson of the board, Santie Botha.
