Hills new CEO

Large audio distributor Hills Limited  has announced David Lenz will be Chief Executive Officer effective 1 September 2016.

Mr Lenz is currently the Chief Operations Officer and head of Hills’ key Building Technologies division and will succeed Mr Grant Logan, who has advised the Board of his intention to retire at the end of his current employment term, on 1 September 2016.

Hills has had a hard time since appointing mercurial telecommunications guru Ted Pretty several years ago. For his 900 grand salary Ted set about flogging off assets and cutting deals – notably he leased the Hills hoist and its retail lines to Woolworths, reasoning that the Masters Hardware business would overtake Bunnings. The opposite occurred and now Masters will close, the Hills consumer goods bread and butter business is decimated.

But that was then, and once Ted had been disappeared, Grant Logan took over and set about stabilising the business. Now David Lenz can carry things forward and rebuild confidence.

His salary package is a modest $350k per annum, with a $200k bonus payable should the board agree. If he leaves he can’t work for competition for 12 months.