In a decision that will please his detractors but raise questions about the timing, Tiger Brands CEO Nick Dennis has resigned from the post, taking “early retirement”.

Dennis has taken considerable heat for a price-fixing scandal at Tiger Brand’s subsidiary, Albany, that will see the company pay R98m to the competition authorities.

Throughout, Dennis claimed he “didn’t know” of the price-fixing discussions, but this contention was put the test when an anonymous letter surfaced from Tiger Brands insiders saying that not only he, but other managers, knew fully what was going on at the company.

Dennis, himself, however, has been scrupulously avoiding answering questions from the FM, something that chairman Lex van Vught said he was “sorry to hear” in an interview.

In a statement on Friday morning, Tiger Brands said Dennis believed his decision was “appropriate and in the best interests of the company”. He will, however, stay until Tiger Brands’ AGM on 19 February next year.

Many will ask why, if no new information has come to light, Dennis chose to resign now, rather than when the scandal first arose.

No doubt the incremental pressure from the likes of Cosatu and the Black Sash added to the pressure (as did some scathing words from the Competition Tribunal, which included the prospect of ’jail’ for price-fixing bosses), but questions will be asked about the timing of this announcement.

Earlier this week, Van Vught told the FM that no institutional shareholders had demanded that Dennis step down.

Although Dennis has been a fixture at Tiger Brands’ for some time, the share price dipped only marginally by 0,5% at midday, to around R178,00. This is some distance off the R200 it hit in July, and reflects something of the uncertainty over the possible fallout of the bread price-fixing, as well as some fears over what may emerge in the competition probe into price-fixing at Tiger Brands’ milling operations.

For Dennis, his early retirement may signal something of an end to the nightmare he has had to endure in recent weeks, but it also sends out an ominious signal.

Other Tiger Brands’ management (such as financial director Noel Doyle) must be feeling the heat too. Equally, Dennis’ resignation won’t escape the notice of the bosses at the other firms implicated in the price-fixing discussions, Pioneer and Premier.

—