This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 27, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd managing director (MD) Theodoros (Ted) Akiskalos has resigned from the company after just four months on the job, citing family reasons.

In May, the 40-year-old Akiskalos replaced Lars Lehmann, who was appointed executive vice-president for Eastern Europe of Carlsberg A/S.

In a bourse filing yesterday, Carlsberg Malaysia said he will leave his post and the Carlsberg Group on Oct 25, and will relocate to Europe.

"The search for Ted’s successor is underway," it added.

Akiskalos currently oversees Carlsberg's operations in Malaysia and Singapore, as well as its investment in Sri Lanka.

In a separate statement, Carlsberg said Akiskalos will be pursuing a career opportunity outside the Carlsberg Group and will join a private equity investment firm in London.

During the transition period, it said Akiskalos will continue to manage the business affairs of the company to ensure its SAIL’22 strategic initiatives are executed effectively.

Prior to his current role, Akiskalos was the MD of Carlsberg Sweden for three years since June 2016, MD of Carlsberg Hong Kong for two years since January 2014 and vice-president of group strategy of the Carlsberg Group for four years since March 2010. Prior to joining the Carlsberg Group in Copenhagen, he was an associate principal of McKinsey & Company based in Boston, the US.

On Aug 15, Carlsberg Malaysia announced a 2.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in second-quarter net profit to RM65.26 million, which it attributed to effective execution of consumer promotions.

Revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19) climbed 15.7% y-o-y to RM480.52 million.

The stronger quarterly earnings helped lift its net profit for the first six months of FY19 by 5.6% y-o-y to RM152.86 million, while revenue grew 18.3% y-o-y to RM1.14 billion.