North has new role at Lion Nathan

Friday 18th January 2002

Julian Davidson

Roger North

Roger North, managing director of Lion Nathan New Zealand, has been appointed managing director, business development.

In this new role he will be responsible for the group's RTD (ready-to-drink) businesses and its hotels in Victoria (HMC), along with continuing responsibility for Liquor King, NZ Wine & Spirits and new business initiatives in Australia, New Zealand and China.

It was wrongly reported in The National Business Review on Dec 14 that Mr North would be leaving the company. Since he joined Lion Nathan NZ in mid-1999, sales have grown from $373.1 million to $455.5 million and earnings have increased from $85 million to $99.4 million.

Mr North's initiatives included several new beers and new businesses such as Indio RTD and the Shop Naked website, the acquisition of stakes in Corporate Host and Real Software, the recommitment of Steinlager to Team New Zealand in the America's Cup, the upgrading of the Lion brewery site in Auckland and the start of building a new brewery in Wellington.

Previously, Mr North was with Ushers in the UK, where he turned the company from nil profit to one of £18 million. While he left that company after a management buyout, it was on amicable terms because of a change in strategy not, as our report said, "because his services were no longer needed."

Julian Davidson has become managing director of Lion Breweries. A New Zealander, he has been with Lion Nathan for 10 years, the past two and a half years as managing director of Tooheys.

Before that he was finance director of Lion Nathan Australia.

In other changes at Lion Nathan, Lee Hill, marketing director of Lion Breweries for the past three years, is moving to Australia to join the company's expanding wine interests. He will be replaced by Steve Mason, who has been with the company for 27 years and was previously chief marketing officer in Australia.

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