Packaging giant Amcor's long-serving chief executive has announced his surprise resignation, but his replacement says it will remain business as usual.
Ken MacKenzie will leave Amcor at the end of June, which will mark a decade in the top job at the maker of packaging for hundreds of products, from wine to surgical tools.
His resignation sent Amcor shares down by more than four per cent.
His replacement is Ron Delia, who joined Amcor in 2005 and has been chief financial officer since 2011.
"The company is in really good shape. Nothing is broken. The company has lots of momentum," 43-year-old Mr Delia told reporters on Thursday.
"We've got a great leadership team, and so fundamental strategy will not change."
OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said Mr MacKenzie's departure surprised investors, who had become accustomed to Amcor's good performance under his leadership.
"There was nothing to indicate that he was on his way out, so that's why the shares are being marked down today," Mr Le Brun said.
Mr Delia said Amcor would continue to focus on shareholder returns and capital discipline, and would continue to develop its innovation capabilities.
Emerging markets would still play an important role in Amcor's growth, and it would continue to look for acquisitions, he said.
Mr MacKenzie said he had decided to resign as the time was right to hand over the leadership.
Amcor was in good shape, leading the rigid and flexible plastics packaging markets, with a global footprint and more than 30 per cent of sales in emerging markets, he said.
Mr MacKenzie said he wanted to achieve a strong finish for the 2014/15 year, and beyond that has no plans other than to spend more time with his family.
His retirement was not linked to Amcor's failure to acquire European competitor Constantia, which was sold by a private equity firm to other private owners in December 2014.
"It just was not possible to get anywhere near acceptable returns for our shareholders (from an acquisition of Constantia)," Mr MacKenzie said.
The 2.3 billion euro Constantia deal was described as the most significant deal in the flexible packaging industry since Amcor's acquisition of Alcan Packaging assets in 2009.
Amcor's shares closed 52 cents lower at $12.36.
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