Libstar CFO and incoming CEO Charl de Villiers
Consumer packaged goods group Libstar has announced its CFO Charl de Villiers will take over as CEO, effective January 1, 2023.
This follows after CEO and co-founder Andries van Rensburg announced his retirement, effective from December 31, 2022.
Libstar chairperson Wendy Luhabe confirms it has been a rigorous process to consider numerous external and internal candidates for the position. She explains that the board believes De Villiers to be the best candidate owing to his in-depth understanding of the business and its strategy.
Having worked alongside Van Rensburg and the executive management team since joining Libstar in 2017, De Villiers has been instrumental in developing the group’s strategy.
The strategy involves repositioning of the group’s portfolio towards a higher-growth and value-added food portfolio, as well as the growth of categories and channels through a combination of organic expansion and acquisition.
Van Rensburg comments that Libstar has been an integral part of his life for the past 17 years; however, he leaves it in the capable hands of a solid leadership team and about 7 000 employees across the group.
De Villiers says he is fully committed to further accelerating the implementation of the group’s strategy to ensure future success and unlock stakeholder value.
Meanwhile, Libstar has also appointed its Lancewood managing executive Cornél Lodewyks as an executive director and member of the board, effective January 1, 2023.
He will continue in his role as managing executive of Lancewood, which he has held since 2015, while supporting the group management team on various initiatives.