E-Malt.com News article: Peru: Robert Priday, new general manager of the UCP Backus y Johnston

SABMiller announced on November 25 that the new management’s challenge is to continue with the integration process of Backus in SABMiller.

Darío Castaño, General Manager of the Backus group, a subsidiary of SABMiller, is retiring after more than 34 in the beer industry, having fulfilled one of the most important professional careers in the brewery industry in favor of the Grupo Empresarial Bavaria (GEB) interests. He will be replaced by Robert Priday, a 45-year-old executive, who was born in England and who has worked for the SABMiller group for 23 years.

Darío Castaño will leave the Backus Group next January after one year of arduous work, in which he successfully lead Peru’s principal brewery. Certainly, Castaño has known how to manage the new competitive environment the Peruvian beer market is facing, enabling the Backus Group to:

-Capitalize the benefits of the growth of the demand of beer, generating an 11% growth in sales volume, from January to October of 2005.

-Generate more than 70% annual net income growth

-Increase the consumption per capita from 22 to 26.5 liters per year

Barry Smith, president of SABMiller South America, stated that during the last months Dario Castaño has been a key element in the company’s preparation for its integration to SABMiller, the second largest brewery company in the World

“Castaño will not entirely separate himself from the Backus Group. Although he will move away from the management of the company, he will form part of the Backus Board of Directors, this position will facilitate the transition period that the new company’s management will face”, explained Smith.

Priday plans to leverage all of the good examples in SABMiller of his experience to increase the opportunities of the beer industry in Peru.

Certainly, during his experience in SABMiller, Priday has assumed different functions in the areas of finances, sales and distribution, corporation and marketing, having worked in South Africa and Poland. He has also managed SABMiller’s beer business in Czechoslovakia and Honduras. From his new position of general manager of the Backus Group, Priday’s main challenge will be to continue with the process of integration of the Backus Group to SABMiller and the development and growth of Backus in the market. “My intention and SABMiller’s is to consolidate the Backus group’s leadership and preference of the Peruvian consumers for its products and brands”, stated the executive.


30 November, 2005