(Updated with details)
PARIS, March 15 (Reuters) – Danone’s board of directors ousted Emmanuel Faber from the presidency of the French agri-food giant on Sunday evening, criticized for several months over his governance and performance, Le Figaro reported https: // www.lefigaro.fr/societes/gilles-schnepp-remplace-emmanuel-faber-a-la-tete-de-danone-20210314 on its website.
The manager, at the head of Danone for seven years, had already given up his duties as CEO at the beginning of March, while retaining the chairmanship of Danone.
The board has appointed the former CEO of Legrand, 62-year-old Gilles Schnepp, co-opted as director last December.
Danone could not be reached by Reuters immediately.
The abrupt departure of the 57-year-old leader will increase the pressure on the world number one in fresh dairy products to quickly find a new CEO.
Danone has been facing criticism for several months from several of its investors, including the investment company Artisan Partners and the activist fund Bluebell Capital, who demanded the departure of Emmanuel Faber and a new strategy for the company.
These notably point to the group’s disappointing stock market performance, its lower profitability than that of several of its main competitors, as well as declining investments – particularly in innovation and marketing.
The difficulties of the world number one in fresh dairy products were exacerbated last year by the effects of the coronavirus crisis, which heavily penalized its Waters division and weighed on its margins.
Danone launched a plan in November providing for the elimination of around 1,500 to 2,000 jobs.
Emmanuel Faber, who has combined the functions of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman since 2017, pursued a strategy of diversification into high-growth products, such as probiotics, while transforming Danone into a mission-oriented company whose performance is partly measured on social and environmental criteria.
But the departure of several executives from the group and successive reorganizations gave rise to tensions within the board of directors which came to light following the departure of financial director Cécile Cabanis last fall, according to sources at made the record.
“Of course the work is starting now,” reacted Bluebell Capital on Sunday evening, welcoming that “all” of its requests have been accepted.
“We are optimistic that under the supervision of Mr. Schnepp, a profitable growth path can be found at Danone while keeping sustainability as a priority.”
(Gwénaëlle Barzic, Sarah White and Jean-Stéphane Brosse, edited by Jean Terzian)
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