pladis UK division head David Murray gains key global role, following CEO’s departure
David Murray, pic: pladis
David Murray, leader of the UK and Ireland division of the Turkish-owned pladis group, is set to transition into a newly created position of Global Chief Commercial Officer for its international business, writes Neill Barston.
The company, which is behind key brands including McVitie’s and Godiva has also confirmed that Mete Buyurgan (pictured below) will become the new managing Director of its British interests from next month.
Notably, the move comes just two weeks after the group’s CEO, Salman Amin, reportedly stepped down for personal reasons, with the company issuing a brief statement confirming that Sridhar Ramamurthy, Chief Financial Officer and Tim Brett, Managing Director Europe and Developing Markets, have assumed temporary oversight of pladis.
As for David Murray, he has spent five years at the helm of pladis UK&I, with his new role taking ownership of the company’s global platform and brand strategy along with its commercial transformation.
Mete, a pladis veteran of eight years, joins the Anglo-Irish division of the company from its Turkish, Eastern Europe and Central Asian operations which he ran since 2016.
Under his stewardship, pladis Türkiye, Eastern Europe and Central Asia grew revenue and profit despite significant headwinds and positioned itself at the forefront of the sustainability debate.
Geraldine Fraser, Chief Human Resources Officer, said: “While our brands like McVitie’s and Ülker have been part of peoples’ lives for decades, pladis is still a young business having started life nine years ago.
“We have made tremendous progress together on our mission to build one of the world’s fastest growing snacks companies. Today, we take another step on that journey to evolve our business and position us for continued growth in an ever-changing retail and consumer landscape.”
Founded in 2016, pladis’ 16,000-strong team makes food across 27 bakeries and factories in 11 countries with its brands, like McVitie’s, Ülker and Flipz sold in more than 110 nations. pladis group revenue topped £2.7 billion in its most recent financial year ending 2023.
