Category: People Moves

John Sams took over as KPMG Australia’s CFO in October 2025, before taking on the additional responsibilities of COO in June 2026. KPMG Australia has named John Sams as its new CEO, with the appointment effective immediately. The decision was finalised after a panel reviewed internal candidates, executives from KPMG’s global network and external applicants before finalising the decision. The new CEO takes over the helm after former chief Andrew Yates resigned in May over mishandled whistleblower claims. KPMG independent chairman Michael Ebeid, who was part of the selection panel, said: “The Board believes that John has the strong attributes required to be the firm’s successful leader – including agility, courage and integrity. “John has a clear mandate from the Board: to strengthen leadership and culture, improve confidence with our people, clients, regulators, government and the Parliament, and focus KPMG on the areas where it can make the greatest contribution to our clients, people and stakeholders.” Sams has been KPMG Australia’s chief financial officer (CFO) since October 2025 and, from June 2026, also held the role of chief operating officer (COO). He has been a partner at the company for more than ten years. Sams began his career at KPMG UK before moving to Australia, where he developed extensive experience advising on major infrastructure projects, providing commercial and financial guidance. He has more than 20 years of experience spanning tax, corporate finance and infrastructure advisory. Sams said: “I do not underestimate the task ahead but commit to our clients and people that I am prepared to be courageous, take the tough decisions and lead the changes we need to set us on the right path. “The firm fell short of the standards rightly expected of us, and the accountability for these failures will continue to be implemented. We have serious work to do on our culture, our leadership and our governance and it will take resolve and endurance. “Despite everything we have faced so far, I am optimistic about the future, otherwise I would never have taken on this role. While the challenges are real, so too are the strengths of this firm and I am equally clear about the opportunities to strengthen KPMG for the future.” Source: https://www.internationalaccountingbulletin.com/news/kpmg-australia-appoints-new-ceo/?cf-view

Swiss Re has appointed Mr Benjamin “Ben” Savill as CEO Australia and New Zealand, effective 1 October 2026, and subject to regulatory approval. Mr Savill brings nearly 30 years of industry experience across a range of markets, most recently as CEO Pacific for Guy Carpenter. Prior to that, he worked with Convex Insurance, Fidelis Insurance and Amlin, according to his LinkedIn profile. He succeeds Mr Trent Thomson, who is moving into the role of Global Head Specialty Reinsurance for Swiss Re. Source: http://asiainsurancereview.com/News/View-NewsLetter-Article/id/96379/Type/eDaily/ANZ-Swiss-Re-appoints-new-CEO

SAN DIEGO – ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY) announced Monday that co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Richard Lowenthal stepped down from his position effective July 6, 2026, according to a press release statement. The Board of Directors appointed Donn Casale, who previously served as President, as CEO and Director effective today. Lowenthal co-founded the biopharmaceutical company in 2015. The leadership transition comes as the company trades at $8.19 per share with a market capitalization of $820 million, though the stock has declined 51% over the past year. According to InvestingPro data, the company remains unprofitable with revenue of $99 million in the last twelve months. Casale brings over 25 years of biopharmaceutical business and commercial leadership experience. He previously served as Chief Commercial Officer at Dynavax Technologies, where he built the U.S. commercial infrastructure for the hepatitis B vaccine HEPLISAV-B. The product grew from launch to more than $300 million in annualized revenue and over 50% U.S. market share before Sanofi’s $2.2 billion acquisition of Dynavax. Before Dynavax, Casale held leadership positions at Depomed in marketing and sales operations. He spent 14 years at Merck in roles across sales, marketing, and corporate strategy, contributing to launches of vaccines including ZOSTAVAX, GARDASIL, ROTATEQ, and PROQUAD. Pratik Shah, chairman of the Board of Directors, stated that Lowenthal was integral to guiding the company from development to establishing neffy as a treatment for adults and children with Type 1 allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. ARS Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company that commercializes neffy, an epinephrine nasal spray indicated in the U.S. for emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, in adult patients and pediatric patients who weigh 33 lbs. or greater. The product is also approved in the EU and China under different trade names. InvestingPro analysis suggests the stock appears undervalued at current levels, with analysts setting price targets between $24 and $32. While the company is quickly burning through cash, it maintains liquid assets that exceed short-term obligations. For deeper insights, investors can access a comprehensive Pro Research Report covering SPRY and 1,400+ other US equities. Source: https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/ars-pharmaceuticals-names-donn-casale-as-new-ceo-93CH-4780148

Ian Morrice, the former CEO of The Warehouse Group and Australian grocery wholesaler Metcash, has joined KMD Brands as a non-executive director. Effective immediately, Morrice joins the owner of Kathmandu, Rip Curl, and Oboz shortly after it completed the latest phase in its fiscal reset. With 30 years’ experience in the retail industry across New Zealand, Australia, the US, and the UK, Morrice joins just one week after the NZX-listed retailer completed a share consolidation that reduced its share count from 1.8 billion to around 72 million. This happened last week when it converted every 25 KMD shares held by an individual shareholder into a single share to clean up a diluted capital structure. This dilution came after KMD’s emergency capital raise – assisted by Goldman Sachs – in which the retailer sold around $55 million worth of shares at a 70 per cent discount, following another period in the red on its balance sheet. “KMD Brands owns a portfolio of highly regarded outdoor and lifestyle brands with significant potential,” Morrice said. “Throughout my career I have worked with retail and consumer businesses to improve performance, strengthen customer relevance and deliver sustainable growth. I look forward to contributing that experience as the group delivers its next level strategy and develops opportunities to create long-term value for shareholders.” Philip Bowman, the group’s recently appointed chair after David Kirk’s resignation, said that Morrice will help move KMD forward. “We are delighted to welcome Ian to the KMD Brands board,” he added. “Ian has an outstanding track record leading and transforming major retail and consumer businesses across New Zealand and Australia.” “His deep operational and strategic expertise, together with his extensive governance experience and strong focus on shareholder value creation, will further strengthen the board as we continue to execute our next level strategy and evaluate other opportunities to accelerate value generation for shareholders.” Source: https://insideretail.co.nz/2026/07/07/former-warehouse-group-ceo-joins-kmd-brands-board/

Australian cultivated meat leader Vow has named Alex Andrews as its new CEO, with co-founder George Peppou becoming an executive director, as the startup cuts jobs and eyes new verticals for its cell-culture technology.A year after rolling out its cultured quail in restaurants across Australia, food tech startup Vow has seen a shake-up in the C-suite. Co-founder George Peppou, who was the CEO until last month, has stepped into an executive director role. He has been replaced by Alex Andrews, who had joined the company as its chief of staff in January. Vow also laid off several staff members in May, nearly a year-and-a-half after cutting 25 jobs due to the slow pace of regulatory approvals in several markets. The reshuffling at the top comes as Peppou leads a new stealth startup spun out of Vow, which will build on the company’s cellular agriculture technology to access markets beyond food. Founded in 2019, Vow has been a trailblazer in the cultivated meat industry. It made international headlines after appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for its experimental woolly mammoth meatball in 2023, and has always taken a taste-led, premium approach to the technology. Its unique business strategy has enabled it to raise $55M to date, and become the first startup approved to sell cultivated meat in three countries. Vow’s signature product, a cultured quail, received the green light in Singapore in 2024, where it was soon rolled out into restaurants as part of parfait and foie gras dishes. A year later, the company obtained approval in Australia and New Zealand, which was followed by a launch into both foodservice and direct-to-consumer retail. Its regulatory success was built on a host of technical milestones. Last year, Vow’s cell cultivation capacity was extended to 35,000 litres within its second factory, which it says was 20 to 50 times cheaper to build than competitors. The firm operates the largest food-grade cell culture bioreactor at 22,000 litres, and claims to have completed the largest cultivated meat harvest in history (1,500 kg). Currently, it is producing over 5,000 kg of cultivated meat per week. “Last year, Vow had a massive breakthrough on production scale and economics – now by far world-leading in low-cost cell culture,” Peppou told Green Queen, echoing a statement sent to Forbes Australia, which first reported the news. “As a result of this, we have lots of new opportunities outside of food. I and a small team have spun out to a new company focused on one of these.”The decision to appoint Andrews as Vow’s new commander-in-chief was spearheaded by Peppou, who told Green Queen that he “asked her to step into the CEO role to grow multiple new verticals, and [provide] contract manufacturing to cultured meat players globally.” He confirmed that he is still “deeply involved” at Vow as executive director, adding: “Earlier this year, we shifted from in-house food production to co-manufacturing for finished foods, and a small number of roles were impacted.” These follow the layoffs from 2025, which affected 30% of Vow’s staff across R&D, sales and communications. At the time, Peppou described them as coming from a “position of strength as the industry leader, not a position of weakness”. Vow has not revealed which new markets it’s targeting or the vertical Peppou’s spinout is focused on. But cell culture tech has a wide range of applications beyond food, including cosmetics, leather, and life sciences. Other firms have chosen to diversify too. US cultivated meat pioneer Upside Foods – the best-funded startup in the industry – branched out with a new division targeting the life sciences sector, Lucius Labs, which will offer an array of media formulations, buffers and stem cell formulations to accelerate companies’ R&D and help lower their costs. And last year, UK firm Uncommon Bio pivoted its business strategy by selling off its cultivated meat business to Vow and the now-defunct Meatable and focusing on therapeutics instead. Source: https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/vow-australia-ceo-layoffs-lab-grown-cultivated-meat-startup-cultured-quail/

Berchtold previously served as chief commercial officer at the Melbourne-based retailer, overseeing supply chain for the last 12 months. With experience in e-commerce, digital transformation, and brand curation, the executive spent time at Australian e-commerce platform The Iconic, as well as a stint as managing director of sporting goods retailer, Rebel Sport. Serving as the company’s first-ever CEO in David Jones’ 188-year history, Berchtold will be tasked with “sharpening and accelerating the execution of the company’s five-year Inspire 30 transformation plan,” according to a press release, including the actioning of “operating model improvements for greater cost efficiency and capability, enhancing the commercial portfolio for better margins and brand strength, and reigniting the David Jones brand through its customer offering and store network.” Coinciding with the appointment, David Jones also announced the completion of a new three-year, asset-backed lending facility with Hilco, which looks to strengthen “the balance sheet and provides financial flexibility to support the company’s growth initiatives and supplier partnerships,” added the company, which was acquired by Anchorage Capital Partners in 2023. “The refinancing allows us to stabilise and reset the business with a strong focus on growing our strategic core and modernising our technology and digital platforms,” said Berchtold. “My aim is to further improve customer experience by curating our brand so that our strategy is aligned with our core values and the needs of our customers. I plan to lead our incredible team of people with decisive and results-oriented action.” David Jones swung to a $95 million loss in 2025, as the cost-of-living softened consumer demand for its luxury clothing and accessories. Sales fell 8.7 per cent to $2 billion during the 12 months. Source: https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Australia-s-david-jones-names-new-ceo,1848014.html

Nestlé Japan has announced a leadership change, with Motoi Shimakawa set to become President and CEO from 1 July 2026. The company confirmed that current President and CEO Tatsuhiko Fukaya will retire on 30 June 2026 after leading the business from Kobe, Japan. Shimakawa currently serves as Senior Managing Executive Officer and General Manager of the Beverage Business Division at Nestlé Japan. Over recent years, he has led several major areas of the company’s beverage operations, including Nescafé and Starbucks CPG businesses across both in-home and out-of-home channels. The executive has also overseen digital marketing and e-commerce operations, helping drive growth through digital transformation and online business expansion. Nestlé Japan said Shimakawa also played a key role in strengthening the company’s cold coffee category, which has been growing rapidly in the Japanese market. Shimakawa joined Nestlé Japan in 2002 and has held several leadership positions across sales, beverage strategy, soluble coffee, digital commerce and new business development. The leadership transition comes as FMCG companies across Japan continue investing in digital retail channels, convenience-led beverage formats and direct consumer engagement strategies. The appointment also highlights the growing importance of beverage innovation and e-commerce leadership inside major global food companies operating in Asia. In recent years, Japan FMCG companies have increasingly focused on coffee innovation, convenience retail partnerships and digital consumer platforms as competition in the beverage sector continues to intensify. Nestlé Japan said Shimakawa will officially assume the role of President and CEO on 1 July 2026. Japan FMCG developments continue to shape beverage and retail strategies across the wider Asia-Pacific market. Source: https://www.grocerytradenews.com/nestle-japan-new-ceo-2026/

Born in 1978, Kim, the nominee, built experience in business strategy, marketing, and new business development at Google, McKinsey & Company, and Yanolja. At Yanolja, Kim served as chief strategy officer (CSO), chief business officer (CBO), and CEO of Yanolja Cloud. This personnel move is the second since Lotte Group shifted to an as-needed executive appointment system to respond flexibly to global management uncertainty and to boost the speed and execution of its businesses. On Mar. in, Korea Seven appointed CEO Kim Dae-il as its new CEO. A Lotte Himart official said, “As we work to improve our business structure and strengthen competitiveness in response to changes in the home appliance market environment, we expect Kim’s experience and youthful sensibility to help drive the company’s innovation and the discovery of new growth engines,” adding, “We have invited someone regarded as an execution-focused leader who has led business innovation based on data-driven decision-making capabilities and experience operating global businesses.” Source: https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-retail/2026/06/12/YBHTD2NB5JDOXAWXAQSMXSLNTI/

Kia Australia’s newly appointed chief executive has defended recent price cuts to the brand’s slow-selling Tasman ute, saying the company is simply meeting the market where it’s at. The Finer DetailsSpeaking to carsales at the launch of the 2026 Kia PV5 Cargo electric van, the Korean brand’s local CEO, Dennis Piccoli defended the Tasman’s recent price corrections, saying it’s simply meeting the market where it’s at. Asked whether other Kia models, including the new PV5 Cargo, could get similar price cuts if initial sales don’t meet expectations, Piccoli said it was unlikely. “At this point in time, we think that [PV5] will exceed expectations, so we haven’t been thinking about the possibility of having to intervene in any way,” said Piccoli. “On Tasman, [it’s] retail season, at this point in time. You know, everyone is moving pricing with end of financial year. We’re merely playing in a market… you know, we can’t sit on the sidelines while everybody else is offering all these various discounts and offers and programs and that sort of stuff. “So, we’re meeting the market at this point in time.” As for Piccoli’s plans for in the new role, it’s ‘business as usual’. “I’ve been in the sales operations role for a number of years and working on strategically where we want to go. “So, the strategy is not going to change; there’s a few little projects internally that we need to work on [and] develop a little bit further, what with the opposition and stuff like that. “But don’t expect to see any radical changes – the strategy that we’ve had has worked and that’s been developed over a number of years, and that will continue with ongoing fine-tuning. “The market is quite dynamic… [but] there’ll be no surprises.” The Road AheadThe Tasman’s underwhelming sales have been well documented Down Under, but it’s not just Kia that’s been struggling to move ute-shaped metal. Last month, Ford slashed the price of its plug-in hybrid Ranger by as much as $15,000. The price cuts come amid slowing demand for 4×4 utes. In the first five months of 2026, the overall 4×4 ute segment – dominated by diesel-powered machines – was down almost 20 per cent year-on-year according to VFACTS sales figures, with ongoing war in the Middle East continuing to affect fuel prices Down Under. Source: https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/kia-australias-new-ceo-defends-tasman-price-cuts-152245/

PH Korea said Wednesday it appointed former Pizza Hut Korea Chief Operating Officer Kim Jung-eun as its first chief executive ahead of the revamped pizza chain’s official launch next month. PH Korea, established by Winter Gold and Kclavis Investment to operate the Pizza Hut brand in Korea, is set to begin operations as the country’s Pizza Hut franchise headquarters on June 1. Kim has more than two decades of experience in the food service industry. She previously served as delivery director at Outback Steakhouse Korea and later led operations and sales planning teams at Pizza Hut Korea. PH Korea said Kim demonstrated strong operational leadership and coordination skills while managing relationships among franchise stores, headquarters and delivery platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said her appointment reflects PH Korea’s focus on field-oriented franchise management and operational execution. “Pizza Hut is a brand that helped shape Korea’s franchise restaurant culture, and I feel a strong sense of responsibility in rebuilding its value,” Kim said. “I will focus on finding answers in the field and building a PH Korea that grows together with franchise owners,” she added. The existing Korean Pizza Hut unit will continue its court-led rehabilitation process under CEO Im Seung-dae. Starting June 1, PH Korea will take over Pizza Hut’s domestic franchise operations as the company seeks to restore brand trust and strengthen its market position. Source: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10757158