Murray Goulburn's new boss-to-be, former Carlton & United Breweries chief executive Ari Mervis, says the dairy co-operative is not unlike the CUB of a few years ago: an iconic business in need of a turnaround.
Murray Goulburn has hired Mr Mervis as its new chief executive as it looks to put a troubled year behind it and win back the confidence of dairy farmers.
Mr Mervis was managing director of brewer SABMiller in the Asia Pacific, and chief executive of Carlton & United Breweries in Melbourne.
With more than 27 years' experience in the beverage industry, Mr Mervis left SAB Miller and Carlton & United this year following SABMiller's takeover by Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Mr Mervis said he was attracted to Murray Goulburn because he saw it as an iconic Australian organisation.
Getting the co-operative back on track would be an enormous challenge but also held huge upside potential.
Mr Mervis said the beer and milk businesses had a fundamentally similar process: dealing with the input of raw materials and getting an end product out to the consumer, whilst getting the best out of the supply chain and engaging appropriately with stakeholders.
"If I draw the similarities with CUB of five years ago: equally, CUB is an iconic Australian company that required a little bit of nurturing," Mr Mervis said.
"Its reputation was slightly tarnished, the brands had been somewhat neglected, and the cost base was probably a little bit heavier than it should have been at the time.
"But through listening and engaging with all stakeholders, ensuring the strategy was appropriate and executed relentlessly, we were able to restore its pride, get the brands back on track and get people once again to proudly sell, buy and consume the product."
Mr Mervis takes the reins of Murray Goulburn on February 13, replacing interim chief executive David Mallinson.
Mr Mallinson acted in the CEO role after Gary Helou left the company in April following a profit guidance downgrade and a cut to the price paid to dairy farmers for their milk.
Mr Mervis said his initial intention when he starts at Murray Goulburn will be to engage with as many stakeholders, suppliers and employees as possible, and ensure that an appropriate action plan is in place.
Murray Goulburn chairman Philip Tracy said Mr Mervis has the broad operations and consumer goods experience that Murray Goulburn wants.
Units in Murray Goulburn's listed entity, the MG Unit Trust, were steady at 93.5 cents at 1349 AEDT.
