BGEO appoints Czech pilsner veteran as beer division CEO

BGEO Group has appointed Zdenek Radil as chief executive officer of Global Beer Georgia with immediate effect, it announced on Thursday.

The FTSE 250 company said GBG is the beer arm of its beverage business, Teliani.

Prior to the appointment, Radil had served as an independent non-executive director of Teliani's supervisory board since October 2016.

In light of the appointment, Radil would step down from Teliani's Supervisory Board.

From 2008 to 2016, Radil served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Pivovary Lobkowicz Group, a Czech beer company.

During that time, he oversaw “significant” strategic development at the company, including the acquisition of seven independent regional breweries and the doubling of the company's market share on the local market, leading to its successful IPO in 2014.

Radil also held various managerial roles in financial and risk management at Czech Telecom, Deloitte & Touche and Erste Bank Group.

“I am delighted to welcome Zdenek to Teliani's executive management team at an exciting time for our beverage business,” said BGEO CEO Irakli Gilauri.

“Zdenek brings a lot of valuable experience and insight into the beer industry and I look forward to working with him in his new role as we take our beer business to the next level of its development.”