Former CMO of Coles, Lisa Ronson, has joined ASX-listed BWX Limited as a non-executive director and chair of the people and culture committee.
BWX, whose brands include Sukin, Andalou, Mineral Fusion and Zoe Foster Blake’s Go-To, is a natural beauty and skincare company founded in Victoria.
Additionally, Rory Gration has stepped down as CEO after holding the position for less than a year and will be replaced by former Coles chief sustainability, property and export officer Thinus Keeve.
Ronson’s appointment was announced at BWX’s annual general meeting, which also saw the release of the company’s profit results for the half year to December.
In the first half of FY23, BWX achieved revenue of $79.7 million but recorded an EBITDA loss of $29.7 million. BWX chairman, Steven Fisher, cited a number of factors for the loss. He said, “these include customer de-stocking in key channels, cash constraints leading to out-of-stock as well as the effect of promotional campaigns which continue in channels even where de-stocking occurred.
“Operating expenses were affected by higher external costs as a result of debt restructuring initiatives, restructuring charges and higher doubtful debt provisions due to processing delays with customer claims.”
BWX’s net assets are $13.3 million in the six months to December 31, compared with $98.5 million on June 30. Additionally, the group has seen a 91% drop in its share price in the past 12 months, posting a $335 million loss in the 2022 financial year.
Ronson left her role as chief marketing officer of Coles in September last year, after three and a half years.
Ronson led a number of achievements in her role as CMO. She led the digital transformation of Coles’ marketing communications, launched the Coles Media business, and worked on the ‘Value the Australian Way’ brand platform and breakthrough ‘Together to Zero’ sustainability platform.
In a recent LinkedIn post about her new appointment, Ronson wrote, “I’m really looking forward to working alongside my fellow directors Steven Fisher, Marcus Derwin, the whole team BWX and our Managing Director and CEO Thinus Keeve who I know will be instrumental in the turnaround of a business that has a lot of love from customers and consumers.”