Brazilian brewer Schincariol names CEO in shake-up

SAO PAULO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's No. 2 brewer, Schincariol, said on Tuesday that it hired a former Nokia executive to run the company as part of a management shake-up to remove the family owners from day-to-day decision making.

Schincariol said in a statement that Fernando Terni, who had been the president of the Brazilian unit of cellphone maker Nokia (NOK1V.HE) since 2002, was named to the newly created post of chief executive.

Adriano Schincariol, whose family founded the brewery in 1939 in a small town in Sao Paulo state, will relinquish management duties and take a seat on the board of directors.

Terni takes over at a time when Schincariol is being squeezed by market leader AmBev (AMBV4.SA)(ABV.N), a unit of global brewing giant InBev INTB.BR, and Mexico's FEMSA (FMX.N)(FMSAUBD.MX), which recently launched a new beer in Brazil with a lavish advertising campaign.

Schincariol, which is being investigated by federal authorities for tax evasion, makes brands such as Nova Schin and Primus. It had 3.65 billion reais ($1.75 billion) in sales last year, an 18 percent increase over 2005. ($1 = 2.085 reais)