Rushton shuffles in new board at main Distell subsidiary

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Dave Carruthers, Steve Nathan and JP van der Walt, who all joined Distell in late 2014, were appointed to the board of unlisted Distell Ltd last week. Kate Rycroft was appointed as an executive director too. They replace five directors who have been with Stellenbosch-based drinks group Distell for between 12 and 40 years, three of whom are women.

The executives who resigned from the board (Caroline Snyman, Debra Ulrich, Carina Gouws, Johan Venter as well as Pieter Carolin), remain in Distell’s employ.

The company, which makes ciders, brandies, and Amarula Cream reported sales of R12bn in its previous financial year and R1.2bn in headline earnings.

Distell shareholder Chris Logan says the changes have been on the cards since Rushton, formerly at South African Breweries (SAB), took over the top job at a company that many felt had lost its way and was struggling to generate returns for its shareholders.

Rushton’s management style, better in tune with SAB’s efficiency-obsessed culture than the more laid-back Stellenbosch style, is thought to be generating some tension among the group’s top management. Although Rushton’s efforts have not been fully reflected in bottom-line performance because of his hefty pace of investing, the Distell share price has benefited.

Carruthers, who has been appointed global marketing director, worked at SAB Africa/Asia until 2014, when he followed Rushton to Distell.

Vernon de Vries, the director of corporate and regulatory affairs, dismissed any suggestion of management tension. He said the changes were primarily due to the "revision of the company’s corporate strategy" in 2014.

"Although this was an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary change, it did require an organisational redesign."