Rexam, the world’s biggest drinks can maker, yesterday became the second FTSE 100 company in a week to drop its chief executive. The company, which has acknowledged that it faces a tough period over the next few years, said that Leslie Van de Walle, its chief executive for three years, would leave at the end of next month. He will receive a £1.6 million payoff.
His departure comes closely behind that of Ian Smith, who stepped down from Reed Elsevier on Wednesday after eight months. Mr Smith will receive £1.1 million in compensation.
Both Rexam and Reed have replaced chief executives lured from external roles with insiders who they believe know their businesses inside out. The departures reflect the nervousness of boards and the discontent of shareholders with rights issues, City insiders said.
A senior headhunter said: “Boards are feeling very jumpy at the moment. Confidence in the recovery is going up and down.”
Non-executive directors also feel under pressure to be proactive to avoid accusations that they have been asleep on the job. “A lot of non-executives are very proud of their reputations and want to preserve them,” the headhunter said.
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Another senior headhunter said that while times remain tough, managements no longer fear that the world is about to implode and so are trying to position their companies for the next few years.
Mr Van de Walle will take with him one year’s pay in compensation, made up of about £780,000 in salary, a bonus and pension contribution.
His departure comes after a turbulent year for Rexam. It carried out a £351 million rights issue in the summer to preserve its investment grade debt rating, but its debts have concerned shareholders. It also declined to pay an interim dividend this year.
Rexam has been hit particularly hard by consumer weakness in Russia, where it has had a 90 per cent share of the can market, since the purchase last year of Rostar for $297 million.
Mr Van de Walle, 53, will be replaced on January 1 by Graham Chipchase, director of its plastic packaging arm and a former group finance director.
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Mr Van de Walle, a former Shell executive, said he was leaving to pursue his non-executive directorships. He already sits on the board of Aviva, the insurer.
The parting with the company is not thought to be acrimonious. Rexam, which is chaired by Peter Ellwood, a former chief executive of Lloyds TSB, wanted someone in the top job who would lead the business through the new few years. Mr Van de Walle was not prepared for such a commitment.
He said: “I am leaving now as the company has been stabilised.”
Mr Ellwood, who also used to chair ICI, said: “Leslie has achieved much during a period of unprecedented turmoil in the global economy.”
Rexam also issued a trading update, saying that results had been in line with its expectations and that it was confident of meeting a £278 million market forecast for full-year underlying pre-tax profit. The shares fell 3 per cent in afternoon trading but recovered to close down 5p at 283¾p.
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The company said there was no change from the first half of the year, when volumes in the cans business were down 10 per cent. Rexam has been hit by a slump in demand in Russia, because of a combination of adverse exchange rates, a particularly harsh recession and the fact that cans are premium packaging.
There has also been a fall-off in energy drinks, Rexam said, consumers avoiding more expensive beverages.