Belvédère reaches agreement on board of directors

Belvédère board members have come to an agreement on the composition of the group’s board of directors after shareholders called for the resignation of the chairman.

Belvédère board members are set to vote on the composition of the board of directors

At the beginning of June, shareholders called for the chairman to step down along with three other independent board members.

In a statement released yesterday, Belvédère said it had reached an agreement that will be put to the vote at the shareholders’ meeting set to take place today, 30 June.

The board will recommend shareholders form a 10-strong board of directors comprising five independent board members, including chairman Benoît Hérault, Christine Mondollot, Constance Benqué, Benoît Ghiot and Guillaume de Bélair.

Three board members representing shareholder Diana Holding will also be suggested, consisting of Rita Maria Zniber, Mehdi Bouchaara and Serge Heringer.

In addition, Laurence Dequatre will be put forward to sit on the board as a representative of DF Holding, Castel group and Jean-Pierre Cayard will be suggested to sit on the board for La Martiniquaise Bardinet.

Three permanent guest members will also be proposed, of Nicolas Gailly, Pierre Beuchet and Guy Lebail, chosen for their “expertise in the wine and spirits sectors”.

If successful at today’s vote, the board said it would recommend renewing Hérault’s position as chairman and offering Zniber vice-chairwoman.

“In the interest of the Belvédère group, the board of directors welcomes this solution and considers that the agreement on the desired composition of the board reflects a fair balance between independent board members and representatives of its main shareholders that will enable the group to have on its board all the necessary areas of expertise it needs to accelerate the BiG 2018 strategic plan,” the group said.

Benoît Hérault took over from Krzysztof Trylinski as chairman of the group in August 2014, after Trylinski resigned for “personal reasons”.

In recent months, Belvédère has strived to pull back falling sales in recent months with an “ambitious” new strategic plan.

The firm cut its global workforce by 500 people as part of the company overhaul, and last month proposed changing its name to Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits as the “final step” in its “normalisation plan”.