Stock Spirits CEO Chris Heath steps down

Independent non-executive director Miroslaw Stachowicz will serve as interim CEO until a suitable replacement is found.

The vodka maker said Stachowicz has extensive experience of leading consumer branded companies in Poland and CEE and is currently non-executive vice chairman of Harper Hygenics SA and non-executive director of CCC, both of which are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Chairman David Maloney said: “The board and nomination committee have been discussing executive succession plans for several months and I appointed an international search firm in early February this year to help identify a new CEO. I also discussed this directly with Chris.

"Our plan was to ensure that we had a new Polish managing director in place before initiating any other changes to avoid further uncertainty. We were delighted to announce the appointment of Marek Sypek as Managing Director, Poland last week.”

Maloney said Western Gate's actions had “clearly interrupted” the group’s “careful planning”, leading it to accelerate the CEO process.

Western Gate – the investment vehicle of Portuguese businessman Luis Amaral and the largest individual shareholder in Stock Spirits – had been calling for Heath’s removal, saying the company needed “fresh perspectives” to help turn around the struggling Polish operations.

At 0843 BST, Stock Spirits shares were up 0.4% to 153.81p.