Danone: CEO Emmanuel Faber ousted after a sling of shareholders
Emmanuel Faber, during the Medef summer university, August 30, 2017, in Jouy-en-Josas.
AFP - ERIC PIERMONT
Text by: Myriam Berber
3 min
Change in the presidency of Danone: the board of directors of the French agri-food giant terminated, on Monday March 15, the functions of Emmanuel Faber, with immediate effect.
The departure of the CEO, criticized for several months on his governance and his performance, is a victory for the shareholders, in particular two foreign investment funds.
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A graduate of HEC, Emmanuel Faber began his career as an investment banker.
It was in 1997 that he joined Danone where he became the lieutenant of Franck Riboud, son of the founder Antoine Riboud.
But it was not until the end of 2017
for Emmanuel Faber to take over the presidency of the dairy giant
.
This practicing Catholic, father of three children, has always affirmed loud and clear his convictions in matters of social justice and he puts them into practice.
Emmanuel Faber donates a large part of his salary to charities and gives up his hat retirement in case of departure.
Shareholder sling
At the head of Danone, this committed boss is transforming the agri-food giant towards organic, plant-based, and
above all, making the group a company with a social mission
.
But this responsible capitalist figure then turned against him: his strategy was wrong.
For several months, Emmanuel Faber had been
facing a sling from a group of shareholders
, including two foreign investment funds: Artisan Partners and Bluebell Capital.
Among the criticisms are Danone's poor financial results.
Emmanuel Faber has failed to straighten out sales or the stock market price.
A reorganization plan that does not convince
In 2020, turnover fell by more than 6.5%.
Sales have suffered greatly from the pandemic, especially with the closure of bars and restaurants which has caused sales of bottled water to plummet.
To resume growth, the food giant launched last November
a plan providing for the elimination of nearly
2,000 jobs
with the aim of saving one billion euros.
A
reorganization plan that did not convince
.
This hostile group of shareholders also criticized Emmanuel Faber for Danone's social mission.
A new transition team led by Gilles Schnepp, the former boss of electrical equipment manufacturer Legrand
,
is being set up from this Monday, pending the appointment of a new general manager.
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