German consumer goods company Henkel is looking for a successor to chief executive Hans Van Bylen after a string of disappointing results for the maker of Schwarzkopf shampoo, Dial soap and Persil detergent, according to a report in the Manager Magazine.
The monthly magazine cited unnamed company sources saying that a committee representing the interests of the founding family had started looking for candidates to replace Van Bylen, whose contract runs until the end of April 2021.
A Henkel spokesman declined to comment.
Prospective Candidates
According to the report, internal candidates likely to take over were Jan-Dirk Auris, who runs Henkel's adhesives business, and finance chief Carsten Knobel, although insiders said that the family would probably favour an external candidate.
The report named internal candidates Jan-Dirk Auris, who runs Henkel's adhesives business, and finance chief Carsten Knobel as , although insiders said that the family would probably favour an external candidate.
Henkel cut its full-year outlook in August after posting its first fall in sales in a decade as the popularity of its beauty products waned and weaker industrial production hit its adhesives business.
'Not In A Crisis'
Asked back then whether he had the full support of the Henkel family, Van Bylen declined to answer directly, but said, "Henkel is not in a crisis," he told journalists. "We have a strategy that is working."
Analysts have suggested Henkel should consider selling or spinning off its struggling beauty business but the founding family, which owns around 60% of the company's voting shares, is seen as unlikely to take such a radical step.
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