(April 10): Olam Group Ltd’s co-founder and veteran chief executive officer Sunny Verghese will step down this month, in a major leadership reshuffle at the Singapore-based conglomerate.
Verghese will remain CEO of Olam Agri Holdings, in which state-owned Saudi Agricultural & Livestock Investment Co first bought a stake in 2022. Last year, it agreed to boost that holding to 80%, with three years to exercise a call option for the remainder.
The agribusiness unit, which trades bulk grains and makes everything from edible oils to pasta, was created in a rejig of Olam’s structure in 2020. The company later pursued initial public offerings for it in both Singapore and Saudi Arabia, but regulatory bottlenecks delayed those plans. The same year, Olam created OFI, its food ingredients business.
Turnaround expert Gautam Wadhwa has been appointed as CEO of the so-called Remaining Olam Group, also known as OGH.
The company said in a bourse filing that deputy chairman, Yap Chee Keong, would take over Lim Ah Doo’s role as the chairman, while the group’s chief financial officer would also step down. Olam plans to appoint a lead independent director from its existing board, and will add another in the second half.
The changes reflect the board’s commitment to “strengthening its corporate governance and transparency standards,” the company said in a statement.
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Verghese has led the group for almost four decades.
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