Tate & Lyle's Pillard poached by Tetra Laval

Larry Pillard is to quit as chief executive of Tate & Lyle to run the Swiss-based Tetra Laval packaging empire.

An American, Mr Pillard, 55, joined Tate & Lyle in 1992 to run its US starch business and he has been chief executive since November 1996. He has overseen large-scale restructuring at the company, which has sold 30 businesses and executed a cost-cutting programme. Tate & Lyle has reduced its reliance on its traditional sugar business as it has created itself into a global starch group.

The company, which has begun to look for a replacement chief executive, said the strategy would continue. Just last week Tate & Lyle posted a return to full-year profits which showed that the reshaping of the group was paying off.

Mr Pillard will serve as a non-executive director at Tate & Lyle when he leaves at the end of this year. It was stressed that there had been no falling out with Tate & Lyle but Mr Pillard had been offered the opportunity to run a bigger business.

He will be executive chairman of the private Tetra Laval, owned by the Rausing family.