Antoine de Saint-Affrique appointed CEO of Danone
Frenchman Antoine de Saint-Affrique, who will take the reins of Danone at 56 in September, is preceded by a long CV in the food industry and a solid reputation bolstered by the performance of cocoa giant Barry Callebaut who he was in charge until then.
REUTERS - ARND WIEGMANN
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Frenchman Antoine de Saint-Affrique will take over the general management of Danone on September 15, recently shaken by a governance crisis and the ousting of former CEO Emmanuel Faber, the group announced on Monday, May 17.
His appointment was recorded by the board of directors in the afternoon, two months after the meeting which had resulted in the final disallowance of his predecessor Emmanuel Faber, at the end of a sling of shareholders combined with divisions within advice.
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A renowned French manager, close to Danone's corporate culture.
This is his major asset: Antoine de Saint-Affrique has a solid knowledge of the agri-food sector.
After twenty years at Unilever and a stint at Danone, this graduate of the École supérieure des sciences economics et commerce, Essec, is familiar with international markets.
Currently, at the head of the Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut, this former officer of the naval reserve should leave this post at the beginning of September.
The first challenge that awaits this 57-year-old manager at Danone is sales plagued by the pandemic.
He will have to straighten them out and save money.
In 2020, the dairy giant saw its turnover drop by 1.7 billion euros compared to 2019.
The new boss will undoubtedly be keen to calm the spirits within a group shaken by a governance crisis, which began with the surprise ousting of Emmanuel Faber two months ago.
His social fiber brings him closer to his predecessor.
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