Cott Corp., the private-label soft drinks manufacturer that reported a $77 million loss in its last quarter, has moved to replace its chief executive Brent Willis, with board director David Gibbons, after just ten months in the role.

Cott Corp., the private-label soft drinks manufacturer that reported a $77 million loss in its last quarter, has moved to replace its chief executive Brent Willis, with board director David Gibbons, after just ten months in the role. A former president and CEO and latterly chairman of the sore-brand pharmaceutical group Perrigo, Gibbons joined Cott's board of directors in March last year. He becomes interim CEO, effective from March 25, while the board looks for a permanent replacement for Willis. Brent Willis joined Cott as CEO from InBev just last May, when he pledged to cut costs and bring out new products to adapt to changing consumption trends. Since then, losses have widened due to restructuring costs and it recently confirmed its biggest customer Wal-Mart was looking to reduce the shelf space dedicated to carbonated soft drinks, which are still Cott's core business despite efforts to increase still drinks production.