Pladis UK and Ireland boss David Murray will step up to the newly created role of global chief commercial officer at the McVitie’s owner, with Mete Buyurgan stepping up as the new UK and Ireland lead from 6 April.
Following the resignation of CEO Salman Amin with immediate effect due to personal reasons last month, chief financial officer Sridhar Ramamurthy and managing director for Europe and developing markets Tim Brett have assumed temporary oversight of operations and in one of their first moves, they are tasking Murray with the responsibility for the company’s global platform and brand strategy along with its commercial transformation.
Murray has spent five years at the helm of Pladis UK and Ireland, while his replacement Buyurgan has worked for the business for a total of eight years.
Buyurgan joins the UK and Ireland operation from Pladis’ Turkish, Eastern Europe and Central Asian business unit, which he has run since 2016 when Pladis was established as a subsidiary of Yıldız Holding.
Under his stewardship, Pladis Türkiye, Eastern Europe and Central Asia “grew revenue and profit despite significant headwinds”.
Commenting on the changes, chief human resources officer Geraldine Fraser said: “While our brands like McVitie’s and Ülker have been part of peoples’ lives for decades, pladis is still a young business having started life nine years ago.
“We have made tremendous progress together on our mission to build one of the world’s fastest growing snacks companies. Today, we take another step on that journey to evolve our business and position us for continued growth in an ever-changing retail and consumer landscape.”
Founded in 2016, Pladis owns several international brands including McVitie’s, Jacob’s, GODVIA, Ülker and Flipz, while it operates 27 bakeries and factories across different 11 countries.
According to its financial result for the financial year ended 2023, group revenue topped £2.7 billion.
