Wesfarmers has confirmed three senior leadership appointments as part of a leadership transition next financial year.
“At a Group level, Anthony Gianotti will be the next Wesfarmers Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Finance Director Terry Bowen, who will step down later this year after nearly nine years in the role and 12 years on the Wesfarmers leadership team,” a spokesperson for Wesfarmers said.
Deputy CEO and incoming managing director Rob Scott said Wesfarmers was pleased to confirm the important leadership roles, and that Mr Gianotti had proven himself to be an outstanding executive.
“Anthony will bring extensive experience in senior financial and commercial roles across the Wesfarmers Group, is deeply invested in Wesfarmers’ values and focus on sustainable shareholder returns, and has consistently demonstrated outstanding leadership in business improvement,” he said.
The Wesfarmers board announced details of the agreement for Mr Scott when he takes over as group manager from Richard Goyder in November.
The key components of the remuneration package agreed with Mr Scott comprised fixed annual remuneration (FAR) of $2.5 million.
Mr Scott has agreed to a $1 million cut to his fixed pay from Mr Goyder’s $3.5 million, and a $3 million cut to bonuses.
Current Wesfarmers finance director Terry Bowen who is being succeeded by Anthony Gianotti, said he was looking forward pursuing new opportunities outside of Wesfarmers.
“We’ve nurtured great depth of talent in the Group and our balance sheet is in great shape, which positions the Group well for the future,” he said.
“I look forward to working with Anthony on a smooth transition in the coming months before pursuing new opportunities outside Wesfarmers.”
Mr Bowen was considered to be “a trusted and brilliant colleague who is rightly considered to be one of the most outstanding senior executives in this country,” Mr Goyder said.
Wesfarmers released its third quarter financial year report for 2017 recently with most businesses seeing a strong growth.
Mr Goyder said the sales performance of the Group’s retail business was pleasing.
Wesfarmers convenience store, Coles Express sales and fuel decreased by 3% from the previous period.
A statement from Wesfarmers said: “Headline convenience store sales increased 0.95% for the (first quarter) and decreased 0.8% on a comparable store basis.
“For the financial year to date, convenience store sales increased 4.6 per cent and increased 1.4% on a comparable store basis.”