Remy Cointreau CEO resigns after 3 months

French spirits group Remy Cointreau said its Chief Executive Officer Frederic Pflanz has resigned, for personal reasons, after only three months in the job.

Pflanz, the company's former chief financial officer, had been appointed chief executive in June, and formally took the reins on Oct. 1.

Board chairman Francois Heriard Dubreuil will temporarily assume the responsibilities of chief executive officer, the company said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the group's strategy remains unchanged.

Remy Cointreau did not elaborate on the reasons for Pflanz's departure, but said he would remain within the company as development director.

A former finance director at the consumer products unit of cosmetics giant L'Oreal, Pflanz had been Remy's CFO since July 2010 and had added the chief operating officer post to his CFO role in December 2012.

Pflanz took over the Remy Cointreau CEO role from Jean-Marie Laborde, who had led the firm for nine years and was the main architect of the group's focus on high-end brands such as Remy Martin cognac.

Remy Cointreau shares have been on a downward slope for most of 2012, falling from nearly 102 euros per share in February to around 60 euros at the end of December.