The Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) share price is going to be on watch today after revealing a new CEO to investors.
Who is the new CEO?
The global glovemaker has announced the appointment of Neil Salmon as the new CEO and Managing Director, effective 1 September 2021.
Mr Salmon, a UK citizen based in Belgium, commenced his business career with the ICI Group working in diverse corporate and divisional roles. He joined Ansell in 2013 as CFO and was appointed President of Ansell’s Industrial GBU in 2019.
He will continue in his current managerial role until 31 August 2021.
Why was he picked to be the new leader?
Ansell Chair John Bevan explained:
“Neil has the right combination of financial and operational experience and capability for the CEO role at Ansell. He has worked alongside Magnus for many years and was a key contributor to the strategies which transformed Ansell during that time.
“More recently, Neil also led our Industrial GBU with its over 7,500 strong manufacturing, marketing and product development workforce located in multiple jurisdictions. His leadership was critical in the management of the initial challenges of the pandemic, positioning the business where it could maximise benefits from the recovery as it emerged.
“Ansell’s strategies are delivering well. Neil understands the drivers of Ansell’s success in recent years and I’m confident Neil will build on that momentum.”
Can a new boss help the Ansell share price?
A changing of the leader brings up an interesting question. How much effect does the CEO have on the share price?
It’s not the CEO that does most of the work – that’s the employees, manufacturing machines, software or whatever else the company utilises. But CEOs are important in the context of business plans, acquisitions, deciding on new products & services and so on.
Ansell is already doing very well. COVID-19 has caused a huge surge in demand for Ansell’s protective equipment, particularly gloves. The CEO just needs to keep things going for now.
The ASX share is doing well in the current environment. Mr Salmon will also need to try to ensure ongoing success as COVID-19 conditions normalise.
