Ex-marketing and brand leader for FMCG organisations such as P&G gets the nod
Alastair Symington has been appointed Blackmores’ new CEO and managing director, effective 1 October 2019.
Symington is a brand builder with 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 and in multiple roles, including marketing.
Originally from Melbourne and currently based in Dubai, Symington is a senior vice-president of consumer beauty leading the ALMEA region for Coty. Prior to this, he was at Procter & Gamble for more than seven years in various roles, and at Gillette before this.
In a statement, Blackmores said Symington had 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. He 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,” Blackmores chairman, Brent Wallace, said.
“Alastair has an extensive sales and marketing background in the FMCG 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.”
Interim CEO and executive director, Marcus Blackmore, congratulated Symington on his appointment and welcomed him to the company 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,” 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.”
Symington 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,” 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.”
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