John Drinkwater to head up Cerebos

"I am excited to be appointed managing director and look forward to driving the business using the same core values that the brand has embraced for so long, as well as leveraging our new production facility to continue to produce premium quality salt," he said.

The new facility, which was a response to growing demand for a quality product, is aimed at increasing the company's share of the industrial salt business, which focuses primarily on the food-manufacturing sector.

He started his career at Cerebos as an accountant/ financial manager in December 2003. After three years, he moved into the marketing environment, before becoming general manager. A three-year stint as operations director followed. He spent a week in Switzerland learning the PVD plant technology that is an integral part of the new facility. He spent six months commissioning the new PVD plant in conjunction with process engineers from Belgium, Switzerland and Germany.

Born in Port Elizabeth in 1975, he matriculated at Grey High School and went on to complete a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) degree at the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE) in 1997. Between June 1998 and October 2003, he lived in London, working in the financial field and travelling Europe.