The ex-CEO of Aryzta, Kevin Toland, has initiated legal proceedings against the Swiss-Irish bakery corporation, roughly three and a half years after parting ways with a payoff of 1.77 million Swiss francs (€1.81m). Both a representative from Aryzta and Mr Toland’s legal counsel, Donal Spring from Daniel Spring & Co Solicitors, have chosen not to discuss the specifics of the case, which is currently in its initial stages. Aryzta Technology Ireland Unlimited is named as the accused.
Aryzta, which owns the Cuisine de France label in Ireland, had recruited Mr Toland in 2017 in an effort to steady the enterprise, following a string of executive exits triggered by disappointing earnings updates. Before joining Aryzta, Toland served as the chief executive for DAA, an airport management firm, and held a high-ranking position at Glanbia, a nutrition company in the US. Gary McGann, a prominent figure in Irish business, who was enlisted the year prior, hired him
Aryzta’s clientele extends from McDonald’s and Subway to supermarket chains like Lidl, Aldi, and Dunnes Stores.
Throughout their tenures, the pair managed to generate hundreds of millions in euros through various sales, including a stake in Picard, the group’s former La Rousse Foods unit in Ireland, two US facilities, and half of a UK flatbreads business. Additionally, an equity hike worth €800 million was announced at the end of 2018.
By April 2020, within a month of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent loss of bread orders from catering industries and fast-food outlets, the bakery group caught the unwanted interest of activist investor Veraison Capital, based in Zurich.
In August that year, Mr McGann announced his impending departure ahead of an extraordinary general meeting (egm) the following month, where Veraison staged a boardroom coup.
Mr Toland abruptly quit Aryzta on November 19th, 2020, a month after hedge fund Elliott Management, a prospective buyer of the group earlier courted by the ex-board, backed out.
Elliot had proposed an offer of 0.8 francs per share. Though, the share price has since risen to 1.7 francs, aided by sales of non-core assets, an earnings rebound, and debt reduction.
In September 2020, Urs Jordi, an executive from the Swiss food industry, assumed the positions left vacant by Mr McGann, including the provisional role of chief executive following Mr Toland’s departure. Mr Toland received a total compensation of 2.69 million francs during Aryzta’s financial year ending in July 2021, of which 1.77 million francs was an ex gratia payment. Ex gratia payments to previous executives in that year added up to 4.06 million francs. Late in 2022, Mr Toland became the chairman of Gas Networks Ireland. Currently, he also holds non-executive directorship posts at Dole plc, a New York-listed company, Bewley’s Limited and Invert Robotics, an organisation acclaimed for creating climbing robots utilised in difficult or risky situations.