Emmanuel Faber, CEO since 2014, has been appointed chairman and CEO of Danone, effective December 1, 2017.
Faber will succeed Franck Riboud as chairman. Riboud will become honorary chairman of Danone and will continue to serve as a director of the company and a member of the strategic committee of the board.
Danone has announced enhancements to its executive committee:
• Francisco (Paco) Camacho will serve as executive vice president (EVP), Essential Dairy and Plant - Based (EDP) to lead the worldwide EDP business, including DanoneWave in North America, with the aim of strengthening a unified category approach across all regions and accelerating the global roll-out of the plant-based portfolio.
• Henri Bruxelles will join the executive committee as EVP, Waters and Africa.
• Bridgette Heller, EVP, Early Life Nutrition and Advanced Medical Nutrition, will assume responsibility for Access and Danone Communities in addition to her current responsibilities. She also becomes co -leader of the Protein program with Cécile Cabanis.
• Cécile Cabanis, EVP, CFO, will add Cycles, Procurement and Nature Sustainability to her scope of responsibility and will become EVP, Chief Financial Officer, IS/IT, Cycles & Procurement.
• Bertrand Austruy will continue in the role of EVP, Human Resources & General Secretary and lead the Danone Business Services (One Danone).
Current director Benoît Potier, chairman and CEO of Air Liquide, will succeed Riboud as chairman of the strategic committee.
In addition, on the scheduled expiration of his term in April 2018, current lead independent director Jean Laurent, 73, will not stand for re-election. Danone said the nomination and compensation committee is in the final stages of identifying Laurent’s successor.
Danone also intends to expand the duties and responsibilities of the lead independent director in order to further reinforce its board leadership structure.
Planned transition
Riboud said the changes are part of a planned leadership transition process initiated for Danone’s top management three years ago that has allowed the company, under Faber’s leadership, to enter a new development phase.
“Combining the chairman and CEO roles will solidify this momentum, creating a direct bridge between the board and management that will enable the company to continue to execute on its strategy, speak with a unified voice and make decisions in an agile and transparent manner,” Riboud said.
Faber said Danone will continue to create shareholder value by remaining focused on its 2020 objectives and driving strong, sustainable, profitable growth.
“The strength of Danone lies in our shared conviction that our business creates value for our shareholders while having a positive impact for all of our stakeholders,” Faber said.