Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Websites
References
Timeline
Generic
Neil Brimacombe

Neil Brimacombe

Senior Executive, Consulting, Non-Exec and Board Advisory
Johannesburg

Summary

Neil is a veteran of 30+ years in FMCG having worked across Europe, Latam and Africa in various senior executive strategic and operational roles. He commenced his career with Unilever as a graduate trainee, moving through various marketing and sales positions before ending up as Laundry Category head for the Africa business group. During this period Neil was a member of the Global Laundry business team and worked extensively across Africa, Latam and Western Europe on various projects. He moved to Tiger Brands Ltd in 1999 as Marketing Director of the Tiger Brands confectionery division and thereafter was appointed Managing Director in 2001. Neil’s portfolio was further expanded in 2002 – 2004 and he was subsequently appointed to the Tiger Brands executive committee in 2005 and later as an executive director to the Tiger Brands Ltd board in 2009. As Business Executive: International, Neil was tasked with full executive P&L responsibility for operations across various African and South American countries viz. SA, Kenya, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Peru, and Chile. He also enjoyed executive responsibility for the Tiger Homecare, Personal care and Babycare business domestically. In addition, Neil has served as an executive director & Non executive director on the boards of many of the Continents giants: Director Tiger Brands Ltd, Chairman of Tiger Brands (Cameroon), National Foods Ltd (Zimbabwe) (NED), East Africa Tiger Brands (Ethiopia), Haco Industries (Kenya), UAC Foods (Nigeria), Empresas Carozzi (Chile & Peru) (NED), Taste Holdings Ltd (SA) (NED), Blue Bird Holdings Ltd (Ethiopia) (NED), CEO SPC Global Ltd (Australia).

Overview

37
37
years of professional experience
1995
1995
years of post-secondary education

Work History

Managing Director

Aldor Africa Pty Ltd
11.2024 - Current
  • Company Overview: A privately owned (Colombian) company competing in the confectionery industry
  • Two manufacturing facilities viz Johannesburg, and Cali, Colombia
  • A privately owned (Colombian) company competing in the confectionery industry
  • Two manufacturing facilities viz Johannesburg, and Cali, Colombia

Chief Executive Officer

SPC Global Ltd
07.2023 - 10.2024
  • Company Overview: A private Equity owned mid tier branded food company competing in Canned foods and Frozen ready to eat meals
  • Two manufacturing facilities based in Australia (Victoria & New South Wales) and 1 in Bangkok, Thailand
  • On the back of sustained historical under-performance and a significant loss in F’22, lead the turnaround for sustained future performance
  • Re-finance significant working capital gaps and associated cash challenges
  • Re-capacitate key leadership roles, re-structure the organisation for optimum performance
  • Kick start a consumer led driven innovation program
  • Orientate the organisation culture to one of market focussed, value-added outputs based & performance based
  • Pursue 3 x relevant acquisitions befitting the organisational purpose of 'Better Food for the future'
  • Prepare the organisation for a reverse listing on the ASX
  • A private Equity owned mid tier branded food company competing in Canned foods and Frozen ready to eat meals
  • Two manufacturing facilities based in Australia (Victoria & New South Wales) and 1 in Bangkok, Thailand
  • Deliver an impressive turnaround to positive $12.5 m Ebitda off the back of the previous years $10m loss
  • Deliver a commercially compelling 5 year growth strategy for the organisation
  • Develop & execute a new channel based go to market structure and align on required skill sets to deliver
  • Deliver continuous improvement savings of $3m in year 1
  • Rebuild organisational capacity and capability viz innovation, customer development & growth, customer service levels, working capital efficiency, output based & performance driven
  • Cultural adjustment of 'learning to win' again
  • Work with relevant commercial banks and financial institutions to provide requisite short term financing
  • Conduct extensive due diligence on 3 x strategic acquisition targets viz
  • Consistent with 'better foods for the future' mission
  • Build an altogether more strategically defensible product portfolio
  • Bulk up the organisation in part preparation for ASX listing
  • Prepare the SPC organisation for ASX listing
  • Financial reporting and disclosure
  • World class Corporate governance standards
  • 'Fit for future' team development and capability assessment
  • Clear and deliverable synergy benefits to deliver shareholder value
  • Extensive cultural and operational integration plans delivered
  • In partnership with appointed investment bankers, oversee the development of a detailed prospectus/memorandum of understanding
  • Ensure legal compliance
  • Raising of required capital through various commercial partners

Managing Director

Consumer Rock International (Pty) Ltd
02.2017 - 06.2023
  • Company Overview: Founded a specialist FMCG Management Consulting entity with an emphasis on the sub Saharan Africa geography
  • Our philosophy is that consumer understanding and the associated insight should be the bedrock of any FMCG business strategy and, consequently, emphasises its strategic significance throughout the extended value chain
  • (A.1) Strategy & transformational growth (Corporate / Business, Category & Brand)
  • Business & category portfolio optimization
  • Unearthing locked value
  • Critical consumer touchpoints & related innovation
  • Addressing the executional deficit challenge
  • (A.2) M & A , Strategic advisory
  • Work with Private Equity on commercial due diligence projects & identifying value lever opportunities
  • Advise several fund managers (local & offshore) on investment case for select FMCG entities
  • Market opportunity assessment
  • (A.3) Operational excellence
  • Organisational process review & optimization
  • Capabilities to enable, Leadership recalibration
  • Client base is a blend of large listed entities, mid tier and Private Equity owned organisations
  • Founded a specialist FMCG Management Consulting entity with an emphasis on the sub Saharan Africa geography

Business Executive TB international, HPC & Baby

Tiger Brands Ltd
01.2011 - 02.2017
  • Full end to end executive accountability for TB Operations in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria (UAC Foods only), Cameroon, Chile/Peru, TB Exports, Davita, Langeberg and Ashton Foods (deciduous fruit canning for export), as well as Domestic (SA) responsibility for TB Homecare, Personal Care, Baby Nutrition & Babycare Business from 2015
  • Influence Chilean and Zimbabwean operations to optimise growth opportunity and shareholder value
  • Own and drive Tiger Brands offshore ambition towards achieving > 30% contribution by 2020
  • Recraft strategic emphasis to achieve this goal – Africa geography priority
  • Develop and align Tiger Brands Group on Africa International strategy, & resource allocation
  • Identify and execute against Africa M&A strategy
  • Lead turnaround strategy for Langeberg & Ashton Foods, and HPCB (Home, Personal Care & Baby)

Business Executive Consumer Brands

Tiger Brands Ltd
03.2008 - 12.2010
  • Company Overview: Tiger Brands Consumer Brands Division (Snacks & Treats, Beverages, Food Services, Groceries, Home and Personal Care, Value Added Meats)
  • Executive responsibility for Consumer Brands Division
  • 7 Business Managing Executives and 3 Functional Executives direct reports
  • Drive new cost-conscious culture into individual divisional business with theme of 'Competing Globally'
  • Initiate newly conceived PED program (profitable expanded distribution) as a key growth driver
  • Tiger Brands Consumer Brands Division (Snacks & Treats, Beverages, Food Services, Groceries, Home and Personal Care, Value Added Meats)
  • Appointed as Executive Director to the main board of Tiger Brands Ltd (2009)
  • Collapsed Beverages and Snacks & Treats logistics and outbound into Groceries / HPC with Imperial Group partnership
  • Significant savings achieved of Beverages R9m and, Snacks and Treats R13m annualized
  • Merge Home and Personal Care Division into single operating entity (R18m annualised savings)
  • Collapse separate beverages finance and administration into Confectionery and create a finance shared services platform (R6m annualized savings)
  • Transition and merge Out of home, Confectionery, Beverages ERP’s into Oracle
  • Aggressive cost savings and continuous improvement program in wake of significant margin pressure to compete against lower priced imports
  • Implement creative blended margin approach to key customer trading
  • Significant range rationalization exercise completed in Value added meats - remove 6 500 tons of unacceptable margin brands
  • R41m annualised saving through five-year term deal negotiation with Nampak on tin cans (180 million cans / year)

Managing Executive Tiger Brands Snacks, Treats & Beverages

Tiger Brands Ltd
10.2003 - 02.2008
  • Chair Confectionery industry association in bid to shut down illegal confectionery imports
  • Imports increase also as a consequence of uncompetitive SA manufacturing base that was partially masked by weak ZAR
  • Very significant value chain re-engineering exercise with the goal of removing R85m annualised business cost in order to match global best practice standards viz
  • Brazil
  • Appointed to Tiger Brands executive committee (Oct 2005)
  • Given executive responsibility for additional business
  • Record market shares across all three Categories viz
  • Sweets, Chocolate, Occasions (Mar 2007)
  • Record volumes, sales, EBIT, operating margin (Mar 2007) in Snacks & Treats
  • Take Snacks & Treats innovation to new high of 46% of sales (3 year rolling average)
  • Successfully acquire Nestlé sugar confectionery business in Oct ’06
  • Key Brands : Jelly Tots, Wilsons, Toff-o-Lux, Triple x Mints
  • Successfully acquire Bromor Foods (Beverages) from Cadbury Schweppes PLC in Aug ’06 – Key Brands being Oros, Roses, Halls, Game and Energade
  • Record operating margin in Dairybelle 2006
  • Successful disposal of Dairybelle to Standard Bank private equity 2007

Managing Director Beacon Sweets & Chocolates (Pty) Ltd

Tiger Brands Ltd
10.2000 - 10.2003
  • Company turnover R925m, 1784 staff complement, 2 factory sites, three Distribution centres, and three sales offices
  • Member South African Chocolate and Sweets manufacturers Association
  • Lead Beacon Executive team of 6 Functional Directors to deliver annual operating plan
  • Leverage minority shareholding acquisition in Food and Confectionery business in Santiago, Chile
  • 14.5% EBIT growth in a market volume decline of 6%
  • Share gains in Sweets (+ 2.5%), Chocolates (+3.0%)
  • Significant progress in Employment Equity transformation efforts
  • Deliver record innovation levels viz
  • 22% of turnover & achieve a new benchmark in Tiger Group
  • Play leading role in new demand management thinking in broader Tiger business
  • Play leading role in Tiger Foods consolidation efforts

Marketing Director Beacon Sweets & Chocolates (Pty) Ltd

Tiger Brands Ltd
12.1999 - 09.2000
  • Transform the business culture to consumer based thinking
  • Develop and rollout new Innovation process for Beacon and later rollout to Tiger
  • Develop aggressive new category and brand development strategies
  • Re-define business with new degrees of freedom and identify several new commercially attractive adjacent category opportunities
  • Identify and lead the culling of non-value-adding brands and product tail
  • Impressive Company profitability turnaround ('99 – R77m loss to + R63m PBIT 2001)
  • Substantial savings achievement through ambitious cost effectiveness efforts of R12m annualised
  • Significant progress in Departments technical marketing skills and competencies development
  • Upped the rate and impact of Innovation from 1.7% of Net Sales (1999) to 11.2% of Net Sales (2000)
  • Significant cultural transition in business – learning to win again

Marketing Manager / Category Leader – Laundry

Unilever
04.1997 - 12.1999
  • Evolve laundry strategy from historically format based to wash environment and benefits driven strategy
  • Pilot brand archetyping as leading-edge tool to create breakthrough advertising
  • Advertising Standards Authority of SA portfolio member
  • Member of Advertising Properties Committee (Industry dispute resolution)
  • Re-define Category to encompass the total laundry consumer pathway and re-structure resource and responsibilities accordingly
  • Spend an inordinate amount of time in South Latin America (in particular River Plate countries) and Europe, understanding P&G Laundry entry behaviour, approaches, best practice responses and alternatives and draw likely South Africa entry strategy conclusions
  • Implement 'Top Clean' International Brand Team (IBT) rollout plans in Africa operations (SA, Malawi, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania)
  • Record ever brand performance on key brands Omo and Skip (Share and volume)
  • Grew trading contribution by nearly 50% in 2 years
  • Leadership of African Business Group (ABG) Top Clean team towards developing Africa approach to synergising the Omo laundry brand in the region

Marketing Manager / Category Leader – Personal Wash

Unilever
09.1995 - 03.1997
  • Led and managed a department of 10 people including 3 brand offices
  • Led the Personal Wash multi-functional team responsible for development and implementation of business strategy
  • Turnaround of category profitability from (R9.3m) in 1995 to + R2.1m in 1996 and +R12.2m in 1997
  • Achieved through focus on value adding innovation on key profitable brands Lux, Dove and Sunlight and also an ambitious cost effectiveness plan
  • Development of 1St consumer driven emotional segmentation model for category
  • Bath soaps share gain +3.4%
  • Laundry Soaps share gain +3.8%

Trade Category Manager, Oil & Dairy Foods

Unifoods (Pty) Ltd
01.1994 - 08.1995

Senior Brand Manager, Deodorants

Elida Ponds (Pty) Ltd
01.1988 - 12.1993

Education

MBL - Master Business Leadership

University of South Africa

BCom (Hons) - undefined

Natal University

SA

Unilever Management Development Course

UK

Advanced Marketing Program

UK

Internal Management Development Program

SA

Tiger Brands / Gibbs Executive Development Program

Skills

    Business process & governance capabilities

    Brand & Consumer management functional skill

    Business/enterprise management & Leadership

    Strong commercial nous & performance orientation

    High personal energy, drive

    Values based situational leadership

    Multi Geographic perspective & cross cultural sensitivity

    Investor (institutional) & stakeholder relations management

References

  • Mr Nick Dennis, Retired, Ex CEO Tiger Brands Ltd, +27 82 8282 228
  • Mr Gonzalo Bofill, Empresas Carozzi, Chile, Executive Chairman, +569 8239 2255

Timeline

Managing Director

Aldor Africa Pty Ltd
11.2024 - Current

Chief Executive Officer

SPC Global Ltd
07.2023 - 10.2024

Managing Director

Consumer Rock International (Pty) Ltd
02.2017 - 06.2023

Business Executive TB international, HPC & Baby

Tiger Brands Ltd
01.2011 - 02.2017

Business Executive Consumer Brands

Tiger Brands Ltd
03.2008 - 12.2010

Managing Executive Tiger Brands Snacks, Treats & Beverages

Tiger Brands Ltd
10.2003 - 02.2008

Managing Director Beacon Sweets & Chocolates (Pty) Ltd

Tiger Brands Ltd
10.2000 - 10.2003

Marketing Director Beacon Sweets & Chocolates (Pty) Ltd

Tiger Brands Ltd
12.1999 - 09.2000

Marketing Manager / Category Leader – Laundry

Unilever
04.1997 - 12.1999

Marketing Manager / Category Leader – Personal Wash

Unilever
09.1995 - 03.1997

Trade Category Manager, Oil & Dairy Foods

Unifoods (Pty) Ltd
01.1994 - 08.1995

Senior Brand Manager, Deodorants

Elida Ponds (Pty) Ltd
01.1988 - 12.1993

BCom (Hons) - undefined

Natal University

SA

Unilever Management Development Course

UK

Advanced Marketing Program

UK

Internal Management Development Program

SA

Tiger Brands / Gibbs Executive Development Program

MBL - Master Business Leadership

University of South Africa

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Neil BrimacombeSenior Executive, Consulting, Non-Exec and Board Advisory