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Stock Spirits director Alberto da Ponte dies
Heineken Group’s Alberto da Ponte, who was appointed non-executive director of Central and Eastern European firm Stock Spirits last year, has died.
Alberto da Ponte has died at the age of 64
Stock Spirits released a statement claiming that 64-year-old da Ponte died on 21 January, but did not confirm a cause of death.
With 25 years’ experience in the drinks industry, da Ponte was named non-executive director of Stock Spirits in May 2016.
Da Ponte’s previous roles include chairman and CEO of Rádio Televisão de Portugal (2012-2015) and CEO of Central de Cervejas (2004-2012), a Heineken Group company. He also ran businesses for Unilever and Schweppes.
Da Ponte was most recently a non-executive board member of Heineken’s Sociedade Central de Cervejas e Bebidas.
Along with PepsiCo’s Randy Pankevicz, da Ponte was appointed to Stock Spirits’s board following a heated campaign by the group’s largest shareholder, Western Gate Private Investments.
Western Gate called for a “fresh perspective” at Stock Spirits amid concerns over the management of the company and its financial state – leading to the early retirement of CEO Chris Heath.
Western Gate, headed by Eurocash CEO Luis Amaral, expressed worry over Stock Spirits’s declining market share in Poland, its “under-performing” share price, and “spiralling” corporate costs.
The investor once again criticised Stock Spirits for “ignoring shareholder wishes” after it failed to appoint da Ponte and Pankevicz to any of the company’s four board committees in October, governing audit, remuneration, director nominations and disclosure.