AsiaNet 79496

SYDNEY, July 2, 2019 /Medianet International-AsiaNet/--

Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) Chairman Brent Wallace today announced the appointment of Mr Alastair Symington as Blackmores' new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, effective 1 October 2019.

Alastair is a global business leader and brand builder who brings more than 23 years of consumer goods experience in beauty, health, and grooming having worked at Nestle, Gillette, Procter & Gamble and Coty across multiple geographies.

Originally from Melbourne (Australia) and currently based in Dubai, Alastair is a Senior Vice President of Consumer Beauty leading the ALMEA* region for Coty – a large manufacturer and retailer of consumer products.

Alastair is an impactful, dynamic and engaging leader. He has a proven track record of achieving significant sales growth throughout the Asia region, particularly in China, with a strong focus on new product development and innovation. Alastair has a personal passion for wellness and holistic health, and is driven by a firm determination to meet the needs and demands of consumers in this continually evolving category.

"Alastair brings the right mix of knowledge, experience and skill that is required to drive the Blackmores Group's growth strategy and seize on the opportunities available to our business across the APAC region," Mr Wallace said.  

"Alastair has an extensive sales and marketing background in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) category and importantly, he has significant in-country Asia and China experience including cross border e-commerce and retail."

"Product innovation and education is a key priority for Blackmores in China. Alastair's deep understanding of China and proven track-record in product innovation will enable us to continue growing in this important market."

While living and working in Shanghai, Alastair took the opportunity to study Mandarin.

Interim CEO and Executive Director Marcus Blackmore congratulated Alastair on his appointment and welcomed him to the company that his father, Maurice Blackmore, founded over 86 years ago.

"Alastair's strong business acumen, his personal passion for natural health and dynamic personality makes him the perfect choice to lead Blackmores into the future. I am confident he will lead by example with vision and focus," Mr Blackmore said.

"The Board undertook an extensive international search for our new CEO. I'm delighted that we are appointing Alastair to continue running our proudly Australian company." Alastair is looking forward to returning to Australia with his young family and leading the next chapter for Australia's largest natural health company.

"I am incredibly excited to be joining Blackmores. The company has an unrivalled history in natural health and I firmly believe the opportunities are significant," Mr Symington said.

"I am committed to delivering on the company's strategy to drive substantial top-line growth via a greater presence of Blackmores throughout the region, and ensuring that we are more efficient as a business delivering superior results for shareholders."

Alastair Symington has a Bachelor of Economics and a Post Graduate Diploma in International Business (Asian Studies) from Monash University.

Outside of the office, Alastair's passions extend to sports and nutrition as a cyclist, skier and surf sports enthusiast. Some highlights include completing the Great Wall of China marathon, competing in the L'Etape de Tour and hiking the Kokoda trail.

* ALMEA region includes Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Australia.

Recent career history:

- Senior Vice President, Consumer Beauty
– ALMEA Zone (Dubai) at Coty (Oct 2016 – Present)
- Senior Vice President, Salon Professional Beauty – ALC Zone (Geneva) at Procter & Gamble (Jan 2014 – Oct 2016)
- Managing Director, Salon Professional Division – China (Shanghai) at Procter & Gamble (Jul 2012 – Jan 2014)
- Marketing Director, Accessible Hair Care Brands (Singapore) at Procter & Gamble (Jun2011 – Jul 2012)

About Blackmores

The Blackmores Group is an ASX 200 publicly-listed Australian company employing 1400+ people in 17 markets across Asia-Pacific. Since 1932 we’ve been leading the wellness revolution by championing innovative natural health solutions and education services to help improve people’s lives everywhere, every day.

Our high quality, evidence-based range of brands includes Blackmores – Australia's No.1 natural health brand; Blackmores Institute – our academic and research centre of excellence; BioCeuticals – Australia's leading practitioner range; Impromy – pharmacy-based weight management program; Fusion Health & Oriental Botanicals – Australia’s leading provider of Chinese herbal medicine; IsoWhey Sports – optimal performance nutrition; and Pure Animal Wellbeing – natural health products for pets.

Recognising that you can't have healthy people without a healthy planet, we're strongly committed to embedding sustainability across our business and giving back to the communities in which we operate.
The Blackmores Group headquarters and production facility is located on Sydney's Northern Beaches.

SOURCE: Blackmores Limited

--BERNAMA