BUZZ-New CEO sweetens Tate & Lyle shares
** British ingredients company's CFO Nick Hampton to become CEO from 1 April, succeeding Javed Ahmed who is retiring.
** Hampton joined company in September 2014 from PepsiCo (Euronext: PEP.NX - news) , one of Tate's largest customers, where he worked for 20 years.
** "Hampton has a strong track record, having steered Tate out of the supply chain constraints of FY14/15," says Investec (LSE: INVP.L - news) , noting also that he is highly knowledgeable about food science technologies and is a chemist by training.
** "Since Hampton’s arrival, there has been a notable improvement in communication and delivery against guidance," Investec says.
** "Investors have been frustrated with the perhaps overly conservative approach to M&A, in addition to the operational missteps in recent years. Clearly Gerry Murphy, the new Chairman, has received the message and has now taken swift action to address this," Investec says, predicting an acceleration of portfolio shift to higher-growth areas.
** "Significant valuation discount to peers could narrow," they say.
** Tate shares up 1 percent at 0847 GMT.