South African CEO to quit Haco Tiger Brands

Tiger Brands chief executive Peter Matlare (above) is set to leave the South African company, which is majority shareholder of Kenya’s Haco Tiger Brands.

Mr Matlare on Friday announced that he is leaving the company at the end of the year, but did not give reasons for his exit. The company said the process of appointing a new group CEO had started.

He leaves four months after revealing that the Kenyan subsidiary, Haco Tiger, had falsified operating profits for the full-year ended September 31, 2014 by up to Ksh879 million. “The board has agreed that Matlare will remain in his position until December 31 and wish him fulfilment and success as he undertakes new challenges and opportunities,” the company said in a filing to Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE).

The Kenyan firm sacked its managing director Geoffrey Mwathi Kiarie in May following the accusations of cooking books. Mr Matlare was appointed to the group in April 2008. South Africa’s Tiger Brands bought a 51 per cent stake in Haco Industries from billionaire Kenyan businessman Chris Kirubi in 2008 for an undisclosed amount, leaving him with a 49 per cent stake.

The JSE-listed Tiger Brands revealed that executives at its Kenyan unit altered financial statements and engaged in pre-invoicing to reach their performance targets.

NEXT SEE: HACO MANAGERS GET AWAY WITH COOKING BOOKS