Scotsman to replace McConnell at Lascelles
Published:Wednesday | May 25, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Lascelles deMercado and Company has selected a replacement for William McConnell from among its current board members.
And Paul Henriques is now tapped to become managing director of flagship subsidiary J. Wray & Nephew Limited, the spirits conglomerate said in a stock market filing Tuesday.
McConnell, who has steered the group for more than three decades, since 1977, to a J$39-billion powerhouse by assets — including J$30 billion of equity — announced in March that he would retire on June 30.
Fraser Thornton, who joined Lascelles' board in 2009, will take over as group managing director on July 1.
Thornton is Scottish with a background in the whisky business. He was managing director of East Kilbride-based Burn Stewart Distillers three years at the time of his joining the Lascelles board as an appointee of the Trindad government.
Burn Stewart Distillers is part of the CL World Brands spirits group, and a subsidiary of CL Financial, which was taken over by the Trinidad Government in January 2009 in a rescue of its insurance business.
Lascelles was taken over by CL Financial, after McConnell and George Ashenheim sold out their stake in 2008. A mandatory offer to minority shareholders eventually pushed CL's equity stake in the group to 86.89 per cent, with 92.01 per cent voting rights.
The acquisition gave CL Financial access to Wray & Nephew and its famous Appleton brand of rums.
The subsidiary has been going through its own management changes, with the resignation David McConnell as managing director of the Global Marketing Division.
The resignation was announced two weeks ahead of Thornton's appointment.
David McConnell's position is being combined with that of managing director of the Production and Agriculture Division, a job now held by Paul Henriques.
new title
Henriques' new title becomes managing director of J. Wray & Nephew Limited, effective July 1.
No replacement has yet been named for Lascelles head of finance Anthony Bell, who also retires June 30.
The resignation of the McConnells and Bell, all Jamaicans, creates three board vacancies at Wray & Nephew, which will be filled by Gerald Yetming, the chairman of Lascelles, and Marlon Holder and Thornton — all Trinidad appointees.
Lascelles recorded another year of record profit, J$3.9 billion off revenue of J$26 billion, and has posted half-year profit of J$2.4 billion, notwithstanding flat revenue of J$13.6 billion —suggesting that it could top its 2010 performance.
Lascelles' stock did not trade Tuesday. It last closed at J$308 per share on the Jamaican exchange, placing Lascelles' stock market value at J$29.6 billion.