Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) Chairman Brent Wallace today announced the appointment of Mr Alastair Symington as Blackmores' new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, effective 1 October 2019.
Alastair is a global business leader and brand builder who brings more than 23 years of consumer
goods experience in beauty, health, and grooming having worked at Nestle, Gillette, Procter & Gamble
and Coty across multiple geographies.
Originally from Melbourne and currently based in Dubai, Alastair is a Senior Vice President of
Consumer Beauty leading the ALMEA* region for Coty – a large manufacturer and retailer of consumer
products.
Alastair is an impactful, dynamic and engaging leader. He has a proven track record of achieving
significant sales growth throughout the Asia region, particularly in China, with a strong focus on new
product development and innovation.
Alastair has a personal passion for wellness and holistic health, and is driven by a firm determination to
meet the needs and demands of consumers in this continually evolving category.
"Alastair brings the right mix of knowledge, experience and skill that is required to drive the Blackmores
Group's growth strategy and seize on the opportunities available to our business across the APAC
region," Mr Wallace said.
"Alastair has an extensive sales and marketing background in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods)
category and importantly, he has significant in-country Asia and China experience including cross
border e-commerce and retail."
"Product innovation and education is a key priority for Blackmores in China. Alastair's deep
understanding of China and proven track-record in product innovation will enable us to continue growing
in this important market."
While living and working in Shanghai, Alastair took the opportunity to study Mandarin.
Interim CEO and Executive Director Marcus Blackmore congratulated Alastair on his appointment and
welcomed him to the company that his father, Maurice Blackmore, founded over 86 years ago.
"Alastair's strong business acumen, his personal passion for natural health and dynamic personality
makes him the perfect choice to lead Blackmores into the future. I am confident he will lead by example
with vision and focus," Mr Blackmore said.
"The Board undertook an extensive international search for our new CEO. I'm delighted that we are
appointing Alastair to continue running our proudly Australian company."
Alastair is looking forward to returning to Australia with his young family and leading the next chapter for
Australia's largest natural health company.
"I am incredibly excited to be joining Blackmores. The company has an unrivalled history in natural
health and I firmly believe the opportunities are significant," Mr Symington said.
"I am committed to delivering on the company's strategy to drive substantial top-line growth via a
greater presence of Blackmores throughout the region, and ensuring that we are more efficient as a
business delivering superior results for shareholders."
Alastair Symington has a Bachelor of Economics and a Post Graduate Diploma in International
Business (Asian Studies) from Monash University.
Outside of the office, Alastair's passions extend to sports and nutrition as a cyclist, skier and surf sports
enthusiast. Some highlights include completing the Great Wall of China marathon, competing in the
L'Etape de Tour and hiking the Kokoda trail.
* ALMEA region includes Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Australia.
Recent career history:
- Senior Vice President, Consumer Beauty – ALMEA Zone (Dubai) at Coty (Oct 2016 – Present)
- Senior Vice President, Salon Professional Beauty – ALC Zone (Geneva) at Procter & Gamble (Jan 2014 – Oct 2016)
- Managing Director, Salon Professional Division – China (Shanghai) at Procter & Gamble (Jul 2012 – Jan 2014)
- Marketing Director, Accessible Hair Care Brands (Singapore) at Procter & Gamble (Jun 2011 – Jul 2012)
About Blackmores
The Blackmores Group is an ASX 200 publicly-listed Australian company employing 1400+ people in 17
markets across Asia-Pacific. Since 1932 we've been leading the wellness revolution by championing
innovative natural health solutions and education services to help improve people's lives everywhere,
every day.
Our high quality, evidence-based range of brands includes Blackmores – Australia's No.1 natural health
brand; Blackmores Institute – our academic and research centre of excellence; BioCeuticals –
Australia's leading practitioner range; Impromy – pharmacy-based weight management program; Fusion
Health & Oriental Botanicals – Australia's leading provider of Chinese herbal medicine; IsoWhey Sports
– optimal performance nutrition; and Pure Animal Wellbeing – natural health products for pets.
Recognising that you can't have healthy people without a healthy planet, we're strongly committed to
embedding sustainability across our business and giving back to the communities in which we operate.
The Blackmores Group headquarters and production facility is located on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
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