Departure of Danone food chief will be closely watched in Ireland

Faber to step down as chairman and CEO of firm which has a major baby food production stake in Cork and Wexford

Tue, 16 Mar, 2021 - 06:00

Danone has said that Emmanuel Faber would step down as chairman and CEO, ejected by the group's board after the Activia yoghurt maker faced growing calls from some shareholders to replace him.

The departure will be closely watched here because Danone makes baby food in Cork and Wexford, which it sells into China and other markets.

Mr Faber, an advocate for environmental matters and a more sustainable way of doing business, had come under pressure as sales and margin growth underperformed some rivals in recent years.

Faber to be replaced

Danone said Mr Faber would be replaced immediately by recently-appointed director Gilles Schnepp in the seat of non-executive chairman, while Veronique Penchienati-Bosetta, chief executive international, would work with Shane Grant, CEO for North America, as CEO and deputy CEO on an interim basis.

Shares in the French food group jumped following news of Mr Faber's departure.

"The immediate priority of the new chairman, together with the board, will be to lead the transition, including the search for a new CEO," the group said, adding that it had appointed an international search agency to support the process.

Mr Faber, who became CEO in 2014 and later took on the chairmanship, had led a push into healthy foods, including through the 2016 acquisition of WhiteWave.

However, problems at the world's largest yoghurt-maker, which also makes Evian bottled water, were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.