CEO of Australian spirits producer Top Shelf International Trent Fraser is stepping down from the company as the business undergoes a restructure.

In a statement, the Ned Australian Whisky maker said the decision was made by "mutual agreement", and that Fraser would depart following a six-month transition period which started yesterday (20 May).

Fraser, a former LVMH VP who became CEO in 2023, joined the company in 2021 as president of its agave and international operations unit.

Top Shelf chairman Julian Davidson, who has been appointed acting executive chairman, said Fraser had seen the group “through a difficult period”.

Fraser said: “As Top Shelf transitions to a new stage in the life of the business, it is an appropriate time hand over the reigns, and I look forward to ensuring over the course of the coming transition period that the company is well-placed to succeed in the future.”

In the same statement, the Victoria-based company said it had initiated a process to “refresh” its management team to “align with the company’s changing business structure”.

"Further details and other key appointments will be announced to the market in
due course," it added.

The CEO's departure follows Top Shelf's completion of its sale of its Campbellfield facility to Idyll Wine Co. earlier this week for A$8m ($5.15m).

The transaction, announced in January, included operational and production assets at the Campbellfield facility and excluded the whisky maturation and warehouse facility at Somerton.

Some A$3.2m of the proceeds from the sale have been used to stamp out the company's outstanding excise debts to the Australian Tax Office.

In December, Top Shelf said it was mulling over a "potential sale of its business or assets", telling Just Drinks at the time it had appointed EY to advise on potential options.

At the time, a spokesperson for Top Shelf said the group had “received both domestic and international interest”, with the company’s board starting a “process to engage the broader wines and spirits community”.

At the end of April, the business also postponed its annual general meeting, following multiple deferrals since an adjournment last November.

The AGM was rescheduled to 30 June, as the company focused on its sale of the Campbellfield facility, plus "other transactions to be announced to the market in
due course". It also said it was still finalising its financial reports for its full-year fiscal 2024 and first-half of its fiscal 2025.

"Top Shelf International CEO to step down " was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand.