Top brass management shuffle at Swire Pacific

As of 25 August 2021, Guy Martin Coutts Bradley will become the chairman and an executive director of Swire Pacific as Merlin Bingham Swire will cease to be the chairman and an executive director of  the company. Swire has been a director of Swire Pacific and Swire Properties since January 2009 and the chairman of those companies since July 2018. He is also chairman of John Swire & Sons (JS&SHK), deputy chairman and a shareholder of John Swire & Sons (JS&SL) and a director of Cathay Pacific.  Post 25 August 2021, he will be returning to United Kingdom to resume his position as chief executive of JS&SL after working with the firms since 1997 across Hong Kong, Australia, the Chinese Mainland and London.

Meanwhile, Bradley, has been a director of Swire Properties since January 2008 and its chief executive since January 2015. He is also a director of JS&SHK and will become the chairman of JS&SHK and a director of Cathay Pacific on 25th August 2021. He was a director of Swire Pacific from January 2015 to May 2017. He joined the Swire group in 1987 and has worked with the group in Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Japan, the United States, Vietnam, the Chinese Mainland, Taiwan and the Middle East. Bradley will become the chairman of Swire Properties (remaining an executive director of Swire Properties), but will cease to be the chief executive of Swire Properties.

Replacing Bradley at Swire Properties is Timothy Joseph Blackburn, who will become the chief executive and an executive director of Swire Properties. Blackburn is the chief executive officer, Chinese Mainland of Swire Properties. He will become a director of JS&SHK on 25 August 2021. He joined the Swire group in 1994 and has worked with the group in Hong Kong, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, London and the Chinese Mainland.  Meanwhile, Ma Suk Ching Mabelle, the director development and valuations of Swire Properties, will become an executive director of Swire Properties. She joined the Swire group in 1996 and has worked with the group in Hong Kong.

Patrick Healy, chairman of Cathay Pacific and Swire Coca-Cola Limited will become an executive director of Swire Pacific. He joined the Swire group in 1988 and has worked with the group in Hong Kong, Germany and the Chinese Mainland. He is ceasing to be a non-executive director of Swire Properties on his becoming an executive director of Swire Pacific.

Xu Ying, president of Wumei Technology Group, the holding company of a leading online and offline retailing group in the Chinese Mainland, will become an independent non-executive director of Swire Pacific.  She joined this group in 2004 and from 2010 was president and an executive director of Wumart Stores, Inc. (the shares of which were listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited until their privatisation in 2015).

The annual salaries together with various allowances of Bradley, Healy, Blackburn and Ma amount to HK$12,957,410, HK$8,510,500, HK$5,931,500 and HK$3,937,928 respectively. According to the group, the remuneration of senior managers employed by the Swire group is aimed at attracting, motivating and retaining high-calibre individuals in a competitive international market. The emoluments of Bradley, Healy, Blackburn and Ma are determined in accordance with this policy. In addition, Bradley, Healy, Blackburn and Ma are eligible to receive performance related discretionary bonuses and are entitled to other benefits in kind and to participate in provident funds.

Swire Pacific reported a recurring underlying profit of HK$786 million in the first half after due to profit rises in its Beverage division, property business and reduced loses from Cathay Pacific. Last year it recorded losses of HK$123 million in the first half of 2020.