Danone leader Emmanuel Faber was ousted from the head of the group by the board of directors on Sunday.
According to "Le Figaro", it is the former company manager of Legrand, Gilles Schnepp who would have taken his place.
The departure of Emmanuel Faber would be due in particular to incentives from an investment fund.
Emmanuel Faber was ousted from the head of Danone by the board of directors of the French food giant and replaced by the former boss of the manufacturer of electrical equipment Legrand, Gilles Schnepp,
Le Figaro
said Sunday evening
.
According to the newspaper, the board meeting on Sunday "recorded in the evening" the departure of its leader, who was contested by shareholders hostile to his governance.
From the same source, Gilles Schnepp, 62, was brought to the chairmanship of the board.
Contacted by AFP on Sunday evening, a Danone spokesperson was unable to confirm this latest information.
An investment fund opposed to Emmanuel Faber
Emmanuel Faber, 57, had been CEO since 2014 and CEO since 2017. For several weeks he had been facing a sling of shareholders, who had notably demanded the separation of the functions of Chairman and CEO in order to restore new vigor to the group, battered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
He had dropped ballast on March 1, the council voting the principle of the separation of the two positions, the outgoing CEO retaining the presidency.
But two days later, the investment fund Artisan Parters, which was campaigning for the departure of Emmanuel Faber, had said "strongly urge the board to review its position".
This fund, Danone's third shareholder with around 3% of the capital, called for the appointment "immediately" of a "truly independent" chairman.
Artisan Partners and another shareholder fund, Bluebell Capital Partners, wanted an outright departure from Emmanuel Faber, judging that under his leadership Danone had declined compared to its main competitors.
A plan to make Danone more "agile"
The arrival of Gilles Schnepp at the head of Danone, if it is confirmed, would meet the wishes of these two funds.
Gilles Schnepp had just been appointed vice-chairman of the board, alongside Cécile Cabanis, the former chief financial officer of Danone.
These shareholders also demanded that the reorganization and cost reduction plan launched by Emmanuel Faber be at least suspended.
Called "Local First", this plan, currently being negotiated with the unions, aims according to the outgoing management to make Danone more "agile" and generate savings by removing hierarchical layers.
Up to 2,000 job cuts are planned.