The chief executive of gas masks-to-dairy equipment maker Avon Rubber (AVON) has dramatically left the company four months after the finance director quit.
We’re surprised the share price only falls by 3.1% to 985.99p given the departure of the two most important people in the business in such a short space of time.
Rob Rennie had only been in the top job for just over a year, during which time he oversaw good progress on both the operational and financial front.
His departure comes out of the blue and the company simply says he has stepped to pursue other interests.
‘The news that Avon Rubber’s CEO Rob Rennie is leaving just over a year comes as a bit of a surprise and will raise some questions over the transition from the former management team’ says Edison Investment Research analyst Roger Johnston.
Rennie is being replaced by Paul McDonald. He had senior roles in the firm and was responsible for UK operations and the European protection and defence businesses, before becoming managing director for the dairy division in 2007.
Stockbroker N+1 Singer analyst Jo Reedman says McDonald should be reasonably well-known to institutional shareholders with his appointment expected to be well-received.
Johnston at Edison says the new CEO has a track record of ‘decisiveness and getting things done’.
Andrew Lewis resigned as finance director in October 2016 and left the business a month later. Avon Rubber has still to appoint a permanent replacement with Paul Rayner - the former money man from infrastructure services group Mouchel - handling the job on an interim basis.
