Colgate-Palmolive has announced the appointment of Noel Wallace as its new president and chief executive, effective April 2.
Wallace will also take a position on the company’s board of directors.
Ian Cook, the current CEO, will take on the position of executive chairman for a 12-month period on April 2, in connection with the leadership transition, the company added.
Wallace, who is currently the company’s chief operating officer, joined Colgate in 1987, and held a number of senior management and international positions within the company.
Growth Strategy
Commenting on his appointment, he said, “With our innovation and growth strategy generating renewed momentum and a highly energized team of Colgate leaders around the world, I am extremely excited about our future.
“I look forward to working with all Colgate people as we enter a new phase of growth, taking full advantage of our longstanding strengths and developing new ones to seize emerging opportunities."
Elsewhere, Cook, who served as chairman, president and chief executive from January 2009 to July of last year, said that Wallace is a “truly outstanding leader”, adding that his senior leadership roles over the past decade have “demonstrated his expertise in formulating and executing global strategy and in guiding operational performance. He is exactly the right leader to take the reins as Colgate’s CEO now”.
Analyst Comment
Commenting on the announcement, Bonnie Herzog of Wells Fargo said, "The timing is a bit quicker than we thought, however, coming roughly two weeks after CL reported FQ4 earnings and introduced disappointing FY19 guidance. Since EPS growth was effectively rebased recently, we see little risk of a guidance cut in the near-term.
"That said, CL has historically been run very conservatively, and there is an opportunity for Wallace to be more aggressive in regards to both the capital structure and M&A."
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
