Chief executive Cem Karakaş will take a leave of absence from his role as deputy chairman of parent company Yildiz Holding, but will be retained as an advisor to the United Biscuits UK board.
Pladis senior board member and chairman of United Biscuits UK Jim Zaza will be interim chief executive while the board conducts a formal search and selection process to identify a new head.
Senior executive positions
A board member since Yildiz launched the Pladis brand in 2016, Zaza has previously held senior executive positions at drinks firm PepsiCo, tool manufacturer Black + Decker and photography products manufacturer Eastman Kodak.
The biscuit maker, owner of the McVitie’s and Jacob’s brands, has made a number of senior hires in the past year.
In July, Pladis appointed former Kerry Foods finance transformation director Lindsey Roberts as its new president of finance for the UK and Ireland.
Based in the Hayes, London office, Roberts will be on the Pladis UK and Ireland executive board and will work closely with both operational and commercial leadership teams.
Newly created role
Pladis also hired former Bacardi chief marketing officer Dmitry Ivanov to the newly created role of chief commercial officer in April, working with the global marketing, digital and research and development teams to align them with a consumer-centric, commercial focus.
Meanwhile, last month, international brewer AB InBev appointed Paula Lindenberg as its next president of UK operations.
Lindenberg – currently vice-president of marketing for the brewer’s Brazilian business, AmBev and who has served 17 years with the company – will assume her new role at the Budweiser manufacturer from the start of 2019.
