Jayne Hrdlicka, managing director and CEO of New Zealand-based dairy and infant-formula group A2 Milk Co., has stepped down from the role just two years after she was appointed.
Hrdlicka will be replaced by her predecessor Geoffrey Babidge who will assume the CEO job on an interim basis while the company’s board searches for a replacement.
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In a filing with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on which it is listed, A2 said Hrdlicka had “agreed” to step down.
Chairman David Hearn thanked her for the “important contribution” she had made.
“The board recruited Jayne primarily for her ability and experience in developing and implementing strategy, recognising that the company needed to develop a refined strategy for the business to meet the new challenges in the next phase of our development.”
He said the company endorsed the strategy Hrdlicka and her team developed.
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By GlobalDataHrdlicka explained: “The A2 Milk Company is an extraordinary business and I joined the company excited about the opportunity to help define its full potential and deliver against it. Board and management have worked closely together to chart the future and it is no doubt bright and we are well advanced in executing it.
“I am delighted with how much progress has been made, the momentum underway in executing the strategy and the strength of the current leadership team.
“The reality, however, is that the next three to five years will continue to require the CEO being present in our core markets of China and the US and that, combined with running a New Zealand company based in Australia, required more travel than I had anticipated when I joined the company.
“The board and I agreed that the next phase is going to be too difficult to manage alongside my other commitments while managing the health and wellness priorities of my family and me.”
Hrdlicka was appointed in December 2017 but did not officially take up the role until 2018.
Last month, A2 announced its chief marketing officer Susan Massaro was stepping down more than six years after she joined from Campbell Soup Co.
