Infant formula company Bubs Australia (ASX: BUB) has announced its third executive departure in the space of six weeks, with chief financial officer (CFO) Iris Ren resigning due to ‘domestic reasons’.
The decision means the brand is now without a permanent CFO or CEO following the firing of founder and top boss Kristy Carr two weeks ago. Former executive chairman Dennis Lin was also ousted from his role in early April.
Bubs has appointed Robin Johnston, who has managed the financial operations for businesses like Forty Winks, Dindas Australia and Metcash (ASX: MTS), as its interim CFO.
“We thank Iris for her service to the company and wish her well in her future endeavours,” interim CEO Richard Paine said.
“We are fortunate to have secured an interim CFO of Robin’s calibre who can work with Iris to ensure a smooth transition of the financial function and support our business growth.”
Ren’s departure comes only two weeks after the infant milk manufacturer ousted Carr with immediate effect, claiming the founder’s sacking was ‘due to failure to comply with reasonable board directions.’
At the time, Bubs said the termination of both Carr and Lin followed ‘the recent deterioration in Bub’s financial performance over the half year’, with the non-executive directors determining it was an appropriate time ‘for a change in leadership and to change the governance framework of the company to ensure that it aligns with ASX Corporate Governance Principles and best practice’.
Carr played a monumental role in building the infant formula company since its inception in 2005 into the multinational firm it is today, currently valued at around $150 million.
Carr and Lin also helped supply desperate parents in the US with infant formula in 2022 during a shortage of the product following a recall from one of the nation’s largest milk formula laboratories.
Having received conditional Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to import its goat milk-based formula into the US one year ago, Carr spearheaded an accelerated push into the market and secured partnerships with the likes of Kroger, Albertsons, Target, Whole Foods Market and Walmart, driven by a $63 million raise to support the market’s growth spurt.
Shares in BUB are down 2.5 per cent to 20 cents each at 3:11pm AEST.
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