Irn-Bru chairman steps down
It’s the end of an era for AG Barr – the company behind the sweet, fizzy drink Irn-Bru – as its 71-year-old chairman Robin Barr announces he’ll be stepping down from his role in May. Barr is the last surviving boardroom representative of the founding family.
The company started out in 1830 as a cork-cutting business. Barr, a qualified accountant and the great, great grandson of the original founder, joined as a full-time employee in 1960 and became chairman in 1978. Under his leadership, Irn-Bru was marketed as “Scotland’s other national drink” and became the third-best selling soft drink in Moscow, its biggest overseas market. There’s a great snapshot of the company’s history in The Times today.
Interestingly, Jonathan Warburton – chairman of another of Britain’s great family firms – will be joining the board as a non-executive director.
Warburton, whose business produces over two million bakery products each day with the help of over 5,000 employees, revealed his tips for running a family business to Real Business last year. Read them here.
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