Admiral announces new CEO and chairman
Paveley, who took up his role at Admiral in 2010, will now pursue ‘other opportunities’, having overseen the successful turnaround of the tenanted pub group which culminated in its sale to an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management in 2012.
“I leave Admiral in splendid health, with an excellent management team, strong licensee relationships and great financial backers,” he said. “I am proud of what has been achieved in four busy years, and wish the business well for the future.”
To ensure an effective handover of the business, Paveley chose to stay on for a year after the sale to Cerberus, during which time the company was named Tenanted & Leased Pub Company of the Year at the 2013 Publican Awards.
Kevin Georgel
Georgel, who has been Admiral’s managing director since 2010, was previously the operations director of Punch Taverns and has also worked at Molson Coors. He is also on the board of Dartmoor Brewery, part of the burgeoning SIBA set of fast-growing cask-ale-makers
He said: “It has been a pleasure working closely with Jonathan over the past four years. He has set the bar high, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to continue building on our achievements.
“Thanks to Jonathan’s leadership, Admiral has earned a tremendous reputation for operational excellence, one that we intend to develop further.”
John Sands
Meanwhile, Sands, who has been a non-executive director of Admiral since September 2013, is one of the most experienced executives in the brewing and licensed retailing industry. He has held a number of other leading positions in the industry and is currently chairman of north-east based Wear Inns.
He added: “We are very grateful to Jonathan for the significant contribution he has made to Admiral Taverns and wish him well for the future.
“Our strategy remains unchanged – to become the UK’s best operator of tenanted, freehold community pubs by investing in our pubs and providing industry-leading support to our licensees.
“Kevin Georgel is an excellent choice for CEO, and I look forward to working with him and all of Admiral Taverns’ strong management team to drive the continued development of the Group.”
