Longstanding Peter Warren Group CFO to retire

By Neil Dowling on 11th July 2022 Personnel Articles Peter Warren Group

PETER Warren Automotive Holdings has announced the retirement of its chief financial officer Bernard Friend, after 40 years with the group.

Mr Friend, who will retire from the company in December, is to be succeeded by Victor Cuthell, who joins on November 21.

Peter Warren CEO Mark Weaver said: “On behalf of the board of directors and the whole Peter Warren team, I would like to thank Bernie for his many years of dedication and exemplary service.”

“If I think about the number of challenges that dealers have faced over four decades, it’s fair to say there wouldn’t be many stones unturned. Bernie’s contribution to our company over that period has proven invaluable as this business has grown and tackled each of those headwinds in turn.

“Bernie has stood alongside the Warren family throughout and in more recent years represented the various foundation family businesses as we have scaled up and listed the company.

“I talk on behalf of all those families, investors, team members and business partners in saying that Bernie has played a pivotal role in our success and he should be very proud of his many years and importantly of the current team and structure he will pass on to his successor.

“We wish him well in his retirement and welcome Victor to the group.”

Mr Friend will remain in his role until after the group’s annual general meeting, when he will facilitate an orderly handover to Mr Cuthell.

Mr Cuthell joins with a wealth of experience, including from within the automotive industry and from various listed company CFO roles.

The company said he brings strong transitional, capital markets and investor relations experience to the group.

Mr Cuthell, a qualified chartered accountant, joins Peter Warren in November from his current position as CFO of Craveable Brands, the private equity owned business that operates the Red Rooster, Oporto and Chicken Treat brands in Australia.

Craveable has a franchise network of 580 restaurants and 12,500 staff and annual sales of $800 million.

His previous roles include CFO Asia Pacific for services group Serco; CFO for Inchcape Australia for more than six years; and finance director Asia Pacific of Burger King.