Brian promises orderly exit from Bidvest

ANT KATZ

Bidvest chief executive Brian Joffe was committed to the group for at least the next two to three years, he said yesterday. “I’m not leaving; I’ve handed over more of the day-to-day operations and am doing strategic stuff,” Joffe said in response to queries sparked by his comments about “succession” in the latest Bidvest annual report.

In his chief executive report, Joffe said a strong senior team was in place he referred to the “seamless succession” of former chairman Cyril Ramaphosa by Lerato Phalatse, which he said inevitably raised questions about his own succession.

“Over the last year I have devolved more and more responsibility to Bernard Berson in Sydney and Lindsay Ralphs here in Johannesburg. My focus is increasingly on strategic issues and major acquisitions.”

Yesterday, Joffe told Ann Crotty of BUSINESS REPORT that his comments about his succession planning “should be seen in context: I am 66 years old, I’m not here forever.”

But, he assured: “Right now I am not in negotiations of any form about leaving and there’s no indication from anyone that they want me to go.” A corporate governance analyst said Joffe was handling his “inevitable retirement” appropriately.

The senior team that Joffe referred to in the annual report had, he said yesterday, “supervised a major realignment of our businesses over the last two-and-a-half years and led our South African and international businesses to unprecedented levels of growth, despite challenging trading conditions.”

Joffe said the effectiveness of parties to the succession process was being closely monitored and performance standards had been maintained. “For the present, succession is work in progress and the work is progressing very well.”

How Joffe built Bidvest

The group, which has grown from the initial acquisition of Chipkins – a bakery supplies business back in 1989 – to a powerful multibillion-rand global business, has had a stable management team for much of that period. In 2012 Bidvest announced that a number of long-serving executives were leaving the group at the end of financial year 2013. They are Alan Salomon, Peter Nyman and Lionel Jacobs.

The corporate governance analyst said that Bidvest was created by Joffe 25 years ago and is almost synonymous with him. Investors must be concerned about his retirement so it is appropriate that he discusses the matter openly,” said the analyst – noting that Joffe’s approach was in stark contrast to companies such as Naspers, Shoprite and Remgro.

In the 2013 annual report Joffe also referred to local companies that “have established a solid African footprint and today derive a substantial portion of their revenue from these jurisdictions. They should be saluted for their vision and their skill in developing local relationships.”