Strategy & Operations » Leadership & Management » Doherty replaced at Reckitt by Smith & Nephew CFO

Doherty replaced at Reckitt by Smith & Nephew CFO

Reckitt Benckiser CEO cites differences between CFO Doherty and Reckitt's way of working

UK CONSUMER GOODS GIANT Reckitt Benckiser is to replace chief financial officer Liz Doherty with Smith & Nephew’s Adrian Hennah.

Reckitt, the makers of Cillit Bang and Finish, said Hennah will join at end December 2012 and that Doherty, who has been CFO at Reckitt for the past two years, will stay on until March 2013 to ensure a smooth transition.

Rakesh Kapoor, CEO of Reckitt, thanked Doherty but added that “RB’s and her way of working are not as well matched as either of us would like, and now is the right time for her to move to a new opportunity.”

Reckitt shares rose 26p to £35.98 in morning trading on the London Stock Exchange. Martin Deboo, analyst at Investec told the Guardian the news was positive for Reckitt.

“We see this as a positive for Reckitt’s shares this morning. In our view Doherty had struggled to win acceptance in the investor community and suffered from being appointed prior to chief executive Rakesh Kapoor’s accession. In contrast, we hold a positive view on Adrian Hennah and expect Reckitt to be more effectively and cohesively led as a result.”

Hennah has been CFO at the medical devices group since 2006, and previously worked for GlaxoSmithKline and PwC.

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