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Cadbury PLC held its first board meeting following the demerger of Americas Beverages and announced the appointment of Guy Elliott, currently chairman of Cadbury's audit committee, as senior independent director when Roger Carr becomes chairman on July 21, 2008. The board also announced that Bob Stack, executive director and chief human resources officer, intends to retire at the end of the year and leave the board at that time. The board has commenced a search for two new non-executive directors, one of whom will be appointed chairman of the audit committee.

Sir John Sunderland, speaking after his last board meeting, said in a prepared statement: "Following the demerger, I am very pleased to confirm that the new company is off to a strong start with revenues in the first half expected to be above the top end of our goal range and trading margins around 150 basis points ahead. This performance reflects the combination of increased marketing investment, higher pricing and successful early execution of our cost reduction initiatives."

"I'm delighted to be leaving the company in such good hands, with Roger Carr taking over as Chairman and Guy Elliott taking on the role of our Senior Independent Director. I wish Todd, the executive team and all our employees continued success and good fortune in the future."