Senior management appointment

8th October 2012

Lonrho Plc

 ("Lonrho")

Ben Ward appointed CEO of Lonrho Plc's Agribusiness division

Ben Ward has been appointed the CEO of Lonrho's agribusiness division. With extensive experience in global supply chains, multinational retail customers and primary production dynamics, Ben, from the beginning of October, will be running the day to day operations of the division and is tasked with delivering the future development and growth for the division, reporting to Lonrho's CEO, Geoffrey White.

British born, South African educated, Ben started his career in London where he spent time with Ernst & Young, HSBC Investment bank and then in 1997 joined Capespan International Plc where he developed through the ranks until being appointed as Finance & Operations Director of Capespan UK in 2004 and thereafter an Executive Director of Capespan Ltd in 2006.

In 2008 he joined AMC Grupo (Munoz) Spain, and became the CEO of AMC for North & South America, Africa and Asia. Ben has spent the past five years building a sustainable business in the USA market with both imported and domestically produced produce, which included acquisitions of businesses and investments in plant breeding and licensing, and developing vertically integrated logistics capabilities. This resulted in expanding the customer base from a single customer to now include 6 of the top 10 retailers in the USA. The business invested in controlling its own export operations out of both South Africa and South America to streamline the supply costs and remain more competitive.

Geoffrey White, Lonrho CEO, commented:

"We are delighted Ben is joining the senior management team at Lonrho. His in-depth experience in the produce market from production through logistics to interfacing with global retailers means he is perfectly matched to Lonrho's business model of providing the route to market for delivering African produce to the growing consumer base in Africa and to the increasing number of the world supermarkets that are turning to Africa as an essential source of produce to fill their shelves."

Enquiries:

Lonrho Plc +44 (0) 207 016 5105

Geoffrey White

David Armstrong

FTI Consulting +44 (0) 207 831 3113

Edward Westropp

Georgina Goodhew