OREANDA-NEWS. On 27 February 2008 Russia’s leading producer of health and wellness foods, Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods, announced a new corporate structure and management positions that will go into effect from March 1st, 2008. As part of the restructuring, the existing Dairy and Baby Food business units, along with the Holding company, will be combined into a single structure: Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods.


Wimm-Bill-Dann has grown significantly over the last two years and has successfully built leading positions in many categories, such as baby food, yogurts and desserts, premium cheese, beverages, traditional dairy and functional products.

At the same time, Wimm-Bill-Dann has been aggressively simplifying its legal structure. It has, as of today, halved its number of legal entities from 68 to 34. In addition, some functions such as procurement, key account management, legal and information technology, have already been centralized.

Over the past fifteen years Wimm-Bill-Dann has accumulated in-depth knowledge of all aspects of food manufacturing, marketing, and sales. The company’s new organizational structure will facilitate the best use of its central functional expertise, at the same time preserving regional proximity to customers. In the evolving competitive environment, and in the face of ever increasing retail consolidation, Wimm-Bill-Dann will have a more focused approach and clear demarcation between headquarters and the regional management.

Hence, as of March 1st, 2008, the company’s organizational structure will be re-aligned to further support accelerate growth. The main changes in Wimm-Bill-Dann’s organization are:
“Dairy”, “Baby Food” and the Holding company will be combined into a single “WBD Foods” structure;

“WBD Beverages” support functions will be either centralized under the new structure or aligned with “WBD Foods”;

“WBD Foods” will have a functional structure at the top level, with the creation of the two new roles of Vice President Operations and Vice President Sales; and

“WBD International”, a new entity, will develop and accelerate activities in Ukraine, Central Asia, the Caucasus region and exports to the rest of the world.

Commenting on the changes, Tony Maher, CEO of Wimm-Bill-Dann, said: “I believe these steps will allow us to manage successfully our current and future growth as we work to achieve our ambitious strategic goals for the next five years and beyond. This restructuring will reduce the number of layers of management and will make the company leaner and more efficient. While we have exploited many synergies over the past number of years, we see additional opportunities that will make us an even stronger force in the marketplace and help reduce costs and accelerate revenue.”

Effective March 1st, 2008, Oleg Kuzmin will assume the position of Vice President Operations and Grant Winterton will become Vice President Sales. Gary Sobel will take over the role of Vice President Marketing and Innovation.

Oleg Kuzmin, VP Operations

Previously served as the Head of the Dairy Business Unit, a position he has held since August 2004. Oleg joined Wimm-Bill-Dann in 1995 and has served in a number of management positions across the group. Oleg’s extensive expertise in manufacturing and his world class knowledge of the dairy industry will play a vital role in streamlining our operations at every level throughout the company.

Grant Winterton, VP Sales

Has served as WBD Group Head of Marketing and Innovation since November 2006. He has extensive experience in sales and marketing with multinational companies, including Wella Haircare, Campbell Soup Company (Arnotts Snacking) and Coca-Cola in Australia, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and China. Grant’s comprehensive knowledge of the standards of world class partnership with the modern retail trade, as well as his experience in independent retail trade distribution and activation, will allow us to build a single company-wide professional sales force which further improves customer service and retail execution.

Gary Sobel, VP Marketing and Innovation

Has served as Head of the Baby Food Business Unit since March 2007. He previously worked for Procter & Gamble for over 13 years in various senior positions in Canada, the US, the UK and Russia, and as an MD for Cadbury LLC. Gary has extensive experience in marketing and brand management, as well as specific experience with multinational companies in innovation and new product development that will be a real benefit for Wimm-Bill-Dann. At the same time, Gary’s in-depth knowledge of Russia and other Central & Eastern European markets, from 8 years of experience, will help him further develop, streamline and renovate WBD’S strong brand portfolio.