The new CEO of Podravka, Zdravko Šestak, once again presented organizational changes in the Koprivnica food company and emphasized that he will persist in cutting costs, but he did not want to specify how much savings Podravka could achieve in this way nor whether there would be layoffs of excess workers.
– The results from operational activities this year will be significantly better, and I base my optimism on the fact that we have already begun to rein in many costs. Follow the business results and our announcements from which the effects of cost reduction will be visible – said Šestak. He also announced that Podravka will not compete on low prices but will engage in the trend of price reduction in a way that ‘it does business, not marketing’. Price changes can first be expected in the milling and baking segment, given the lower input prices.
Personnel reshuffle of old Podravka staff
The business unit Beverages will be led by Management Board member Marin Pucar, while Saša Romac will be responsible for Meat and meat products. The other two businesses, Meal Additives and Nutrition, have a large number of diverse products, so their care is divided according to functions. Saša Romac has taken over their marketing and development, while Zdravko Šestak is responsible for production and supply chain. In addition, Šestak is in charge of all corporate functions related to the position of CEO (strategic development, human resources, communications, etc.). Marin Pucar’s job description also includes all foreign markets of Podravka except for the Southeast, but including Slovenia. The market of the former Yugoslavia and the entire logistics of the company has been assigned to Miroslav Vitković, Deputy CEO. Josip Pavlović remains as a Management Board member responsible for finance in the broadest sense. All four businesses have received new executive directors, all from Podravka, and selected as the best staff, says Šestak. Beverages is led by Zvonimir Šimunović, Meal Additives by Dino Bijač, Nutrition by Kruno Bešvir, and Meat by Romeo Nakić.
As is known, the number of sectors in Podravka has been reduced from 31 to 23, and the reshuffle has affected almost two-thirds of managers at the first level below the Management Board. According to Šestak, only one manager out of 22 did not sign a contract with the new conditions. Podravka’s business will now be organized into 4 groups – Meat and meat products, Beverages, Meal Additives, and Nutrition.
The first two business units are organized almost as independent units (the meat business is led by Saša Romac, and beverages by Marin Pucar), in the Meat segment there is already a subsidiary Danica, and the ultimate goal in the Beverages segment, when sufficient volumes are reached, says Šestak, is to establish a subsidiary.
The main concept in Podravka’s future business will be the concept of integrated business programs. In the Meal Additives segment, where the brand Vegeta dominates, a new development cycle will be launched as the existing growth rates are not sufficient.
In the most diverse segment, Nutrition, various brands such as Čokolino, Line, Dolcela, and Eva remain, which, says Šestak, still do not have the developmental and operational resources to be self-sustainable.
Šestak stated that Podravka is still working on several acquisitions that fall within existing businesses and markets, without going into any details about potential targets. He also announced that efforts will be made to resolve part of the non-prospective products for which the key criterion will be ‘the number of turns on the shelf’, i.e., acceptance by consumers. (Matilda Bačelić)
