McVitie’s-owner Pladis has promoted a new global chief commercial officer, as it strengthens its senior team following its CEO’s sudden departure last month.

The snacking giant, which has a brand portfolio that includes McVities, Jacobs and Godiva, has promoted the current leader of its UK and Ireland enterprise, David Murray, to the newly created position of global chief commercial officer.

Murray’s appointment, which is set to see him take charge of the company’s global platform, brand strategy and its commercial transformation from 6 April, comes after five years at Pladis.

Murray’s former position will be taken by Mete Buyurgan, who is to become the new managing director of Pladis across Britain and Ireland, effective 6 April.

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Buyurgan joins from Pladis’s Turkish, Eastern Europe and Central Asian operations, which he has run since 2016.

Pladis chief human resources officer Geraldine Fraser said: “While our brands like McVitie’s and Ülker have been part of peoples’ lives for decades, Pladis is still a young business having started life nine years ago.

“We have made tremendous progress together on our mission to build one of the world’s fastest growing snacks companies. Today, we take another step on that journey to evolve our business and position us for continued growth in an ever-changing retail and consumer landscape.”

The senior appointments follow the announcement in February that Pladis CEO Salman Amin had resigned with “immediate effect” due to personal reasons.

The company added: “We can confirm Sridhar Ramamurthy, Chief Financial Officer and Tim Brett, Managing Director Europe and Developing Markets, have assumed temporary oversight of Pladis.”