The chairman of Danone, Franck Riboud, will step down from his position with his responsibilities given to the current CEO as part of a management reshuffle.
Emmanuel Faber, who has been CEO since 2014, will also become the company’s chairman as of 1 December 2017. Riboud will become honorary chairman and will continue to serve as a director and member of the strategic committee of the board.
Danone has also announced changes to its executive committee in order to ‘promote efficient and agile decision making against a backdrop of fast-moving industry trends’.
Francisco Camacho will become executive vice president of essential dairy and plant-based (EDP) to lead the worldwide EDP business, including DanoneWave in North America.
Henri Bruxelles will join the executive committee as executive vice president for waters and Africa. He was most recently regional vice president of waters for Latin America.
Bridgette Heller, executive vice president of early life nutrition and advanced medical nutrition, will assume responsibility for access and Danone communities in addition to her current responsibilities.
Outgoing chairman Riboud said that the decision reflects the culmination of a planned leadership transition process that he initiated three years ago.
“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.
“Emmanuel’s experience, record of accomplishment and deep knowledge of our business make him an ideal choice to serve as chairman, and I have full trust that he will provide strong and stable leadership as Danone continues to evolve.
“I am proud and privileged to have chaired the board for the past 23 years of growth and I am confident about the future of this truly unique and world-class company.”
Emmanuel Faber added: “With the full support of the board, we will continue to create shareholder value by remaining focused on our 2020 objectives and driving strong, sustainable, profitable growth across our categories.
“This will require the engagement and energy of our leadership team and of our more than 100,000 employees. 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.”
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