Libstar, a food producer whose brands include Denny mushrooms and Lancewood cheeses, yesterday announced its co-founder and chief executive Andries van Rensburg is to retire with effect from December 31.

Pegged to take over is Charl de Villiers, who is the chief financial officer (CFO) of the company, with effect from January 1, 2023.

De Villiers will take over a company with a R3.8 billion market capitalisation and a share price that has tanked 29.99 percent in the past three years.

This as Libstar faces supply chain disruptions, significant cost inflation and consumer pressures.

The announcement comes as Libstar is set to release its interim results today.

Last month, it said in a trading statement that for the six-months period ended June, it was likely to see headline earnings per share (heps) increase to between 95.7 percent to 106.3 percent to between 3.9 to 25.2 cents per share; with earnings per share (eps) set to rise by between 90.5 percent to 100 percent to between 24 to 25.2c per share.

Van Rensburg co-founded Libstar in 2005 with Metier, a Johannesburg-based Southern Africa fund manager, with the vision of building a value-added consumer packaged-goods business.

Libstar today holds controlling stakes in more than 20 businesses supplying South Africa’s private label, contract manufacturing, and branded product markets with a gamut of food, beverage and personal care products.

The board said in a statement by Wendy Luhabe, the chairperson of Libstar, “Guiding and instilling the company’s entrepreneurial spirit, he (Van Rensburg) led the group from its humble beginnings to a family of 17 decentralised divisions spanning a diverse portfolio of food products and channels.

“Andries was instrumental in the group’s transition from a private to a public company in 2018. Since 2020, he navigated the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic by successfully protecting Libstar’s people, its customers and the financial stability of the group,” she said.

Libstar acknowledged the cohesive team Van Rensburg had built at the firm and was indebted to him for his esteemed leadership, and wished him well in his retirement.

On De Villiers’s appointment to lead the firm next year, the board said he was the best candidate for the position due to his in-depth understanding of the business and strategy of the group, saying De Villiers had worked alongside Van Rensburg and the management team since joining Libstar in 2017.

“He has also been instrumental in the development of the group’s strategy and has a deep understanding of the commercial, financial and operational disciplines of the group. He has strong relationships with the management teams and stakeholders, the board said.

De Villiers is a chartered accountant and LLB-graduate, with a combination of legal and financial qualifications and would continue to drive the repositioning of the group’s portfolio towards high growth and value-added food portfolio, as well as the growth of its categories and channels through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.

The board also announced that Cornél Lodewyks, who currently serves as managing executive of Lancewood, Libstar’s largest operating division, had been appointed executive director of Libstar and member of the board with effect from January 1, 2023.

“With over 20 years of consumer packaged-goods experience, Cornél’s knowledge the industry and has been instrumental in the success of Lancewood. He will enhance the spread of skills already available on the board. He joined the Lancewood family in 2011 and was promoted to managing executive in 2015,” the board said.

Lodewyks would continue in his role as managing executive of Lancewood, while supporting the group management team in the implementation of its strategic initiatives.

The board said it had commenced the process of appointing a new CFO to ensure a seamless transition.

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