Antoine de Saint-Affrique has been named as the new chief executive officer at food giant Danone.
He will take over from the joint interim leadership of Véronique Penchienati-Bosetta and Shane Grant in September. They were appointed after Emmanuel Faber stepped down as CEO/chair in March.
The board of directors will propose De Saint-Affrique as a new member to the Danone board at the next annual shareholders’ meeting in April 2022.
De Saint-Affrique is CEO of global chocolate maker and cocoa processor Barry Callebaut. He previously held a series of senior executive positions at Unilever.
He is a member of the board of directors of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce and joined fashion brand Burberry as a non-executive director earlier this year.
Gilles Schnepp, Danone chair, said: “This marks a new chapter of leadership and a continuation of how we, as a board, have been transitioning governance at the company for a few weeks already.
“[De Saint-Affrique] brings the right blend of strategic vision, international consumer goods experience, and operational execution skills to Danone. The board is confident that Antoine, together with the rest of the leadership team, will deliver sustainable value for shareholders, and all our stakeholders.”