By Chris Nicholls
SYDNEY: Strathfield may have an interim chief executive until Christmas, if chairman Richard Poole has his way, saying he wanted Warwick Mirzikinian to stay until the busiest period of the year was over.
Speaking to Current.com.au, Poole admitted that while it may be impossible, he would like to see Mirzikinian stay longer than the likely two to three months in the chief executive role, as he had the necessary credentials to carry out the task.
“We don’t see it [the need to search for a new CEO] as a massive rush, because Warwick’s got the experience and knows how to do it. I put quite a lot of pressure on Warwick to go in there because he’s got a natural flair for excellence, so if you hold him there a bit longer, it won’t be the end of the world.
“My personal plan would be to hold him there until Christmas and then the new guy can settle down, so if it’s a two or three month process [looking for a new CEO], I wouldn’t be at all surprised,” said Poole.
To back up his statements, Poole said Mirzikinian has excellent managerial credentials, saying he was an “excellent candidate”.
“He’s a very good retailer. He’s got a head for it. He’s worked in mobile phones for years, he’s got a very good understanding of all that side of the business, and also he’s magnificent on controlling and managing costs, so he’s an excellent candidate, but he won’t stay that long. He’ll stay two or three months and in the meantime, we’ll sort out a good candidate and away we go.”
Poole said while the company would be searching for a new chief executive, it had not started its search yet.