Danone's board is set to to meet today to approve outgoing Barry Callebaut CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique's nomination as chief executive, according to local media reports.
The Le Figaro newspaper reported the news on Sunday, saying that de Saint-Affrique's 'arrival at the head of the group will be formalised on Monday evening', in a meeting led by chairman Giles Schlepp.
The paper also reported that the current CEO of McCain, Max Koeune, along with former Mars and L'Oréal executive Nathalie Roos, were also among the potential candidates for the role.
Stepping Down
De Saint-Affrique announced on April 22 he was stepping down from Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut at the end of August, sparking speculation he would be a top candidate to take over at Danone.
Danone did not respond to requests for comment.
The yoghurt maker is looking to replace Emmanuel Faber, who was ousted in March after activist shareholders took aim at the company and its recent performance compared to peers in the food industry.
Several people close to the matter have previously told Reuters that De Saint-Affrique was one of the people in the running for CEO, and one said he was the front-runner for the job.
According to Le Figaro, once installed in the job, his challenges will not be lacking, with the new CEO required to deploy the 'Local First' plan established by his predecessor, as well as put in place measures to 'bounce back' following the COVID-19 crisis, with its waters business having found the going particularly tough in recent months.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. For more A-Brands stores, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
