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Naked Wines has promoted its new UK managing director to group CEO to work alongside executive chairman Rowan Gormley as the DTC wine retailer attempts to turn around its fortunes.
Rodrigo Maza, who started as UK MD in September, will be CEO designate for the next several months to ensure a successful transition before Gormley resumes his previous role of non-executive chairman.
Gormley took charge of the struggling group in December after CEO Nick Devlin was let go with immediate effect after Naked disappointed the markets once again by downgrading its revenue and profit expectations following weak trading.
This morning, Naked told the London Stock Exchange that Maza had “quickly demonstrated his strategic capability and business acumen” since joining the company.
Naked added he had been working closely with Gormley and the executive team to define the group’s turnaround strategy.
“In his short time with us he has proven his ability to energise his team to get Naked back on the growth path, and his previous experience has a compelling combination of entrepreneurial startups and big company best practice, both of which we are going to need,” Gormley said.
Maza added: “I’m honoured and excited to accept the role of CEO designate at Naked Wines.
“The value that Naked delivers to its customers and winemakers is clear and provides a solid foundation to build on. I look forward to working with the team across Naked and getting this amazing company to achieve its full potential.”
Naked has also appointed Emma Kamel, formerly COO of the UK business, to succeed Maza as general manager of the UK operations. She has more than six years of experience with Naked, including spells as commercial and supply chain director.
Morning update
The FTSE 100 opened up 0.4% to 7,648.26pts this morning.
Early risers in fmcg include Ocado, up 3.6% to 523.4p, and Bakkavor, up 3.4% to 97.6p.
McBride has slumped 3.9% to 69p in the early going, while Science in Sport is down 2% to 15p and PZ Cussons is down 1.6% to 127.2p.
This week in the City
Tomorrow kicks off with the latest monthly grocery sales figures from Nielsen along with the retail sales figures for January from the BRC-KPMG.
Personal care group PZ Cussons puts out its interims on Wednesday.
The big news of the week is due on Thursday when Hein Schumacher will give the markets an insight into how his new strategy is working as Unilever reports Q4 and full-year results.
British American Tobacco also reports its final results on Thursday, with trading updates from Tate & Lyle and Compass Group
PepsiCo rounds outs the week with its Q4 results on Friday in the US.
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