Tom Tedford to succeed Boris Elisman.

 

US-based ACCO Brands has appointed a new CEO following the impending retirement of Boris Elisman (pictured).

 

Thomas Tedford, the company’s president and chief operating officer, will take over as CEO from 1 October. 

 

Elisman will continue as executive chairman until his retirement in the first half of 2024. 

 

ACCO Brands independent director Thomas Kroeger said Tom has worked closely with Boris and the board in developing and executing on the company’s strategic transformation and will continue to do so, assuring a smooth and seamless transition of leadership and positioning us for profitable growth.

 

“Boris’s innumerable contributions during his 18-year tenure, the last 10 leading the company as CEO, have successfully expanded the growth opportunities for the company,” Kroeger added.

 

ACCO posts decline in Q2 sales

 

ACCO Brands has recorded Q2 sales of US$493.6 million, a comparable decline of 5.1 per cent. This was blamed on reduced volumes due to a more challenging macroeconomic environment (especially in the EMEA region) and weaker global sales of computer accessories.

 

Gross profit was up 9.5 per cent to US$164.2 million. The improvement was due to price increases, productivity savings, SKU reductions and restructuring actions.

 

At the beginning of the year, retiring CEO Boris Elisman made restoring margins a “top priority” and said “great progress” was made on that front in the six months to the end of June.

 

“Our results reflect the resilience of our brands and the transformative actions undertaken to expand our product categories, broaden our geographic reach, bring innovative new consumer-centric products to market and streamline our cost structure,” he said. “We remain confident that our strategy has us positioned to deliver sustainable organic growth as global economies improve.”

 

That said, the ACCO CEO admitted the company remains “cautious” on the demand environment in the second half of the year. For example, it is expecting comparable sales in the third quarter to be down by 4-7 per cent.