Two months after Emmanuel Faber's departure, Danone has finally appointed a new CEO. On May 18, Danone announced that it had appointed Antoine de Saint-Affrique as CEO, effective September 15, 2021. Antoine previously served at chocolate and cocoa maker Barry Callebaut, where he delivered a two-thirds increase in profit. Industry insiders see his past achievements as a "ticket" to the CEO role, but given the sluggish traditional business, it remains uncertain whether Antoine can reverse Danone's declining performance and boost market confidence. -01- Official announcement of new CEO According to Danone's announcement, after Antoine takes over as CEO, Véronique Penchienati-Bosetta and Shane Grant will step down from their roles as interim co-CEOs. "Antoine cannot assume the role until September because he needs to complete his remaining term as CEO at Barry Callebaut. In April this year, Antoine announced he would resign from that company," a relevant industry insider told Beijing Business Today. In March this year, Danone announced that the board had resolved that Emmanuel Faber would resign as Chairman and CEO. The board also appointed Gilles Schnepp as Chairman. The new Chairman and the board's priority was to lead the transition, including finding a new CEO. In the announcement of the new CEO appointment, Danone's new Chairman Gilles Schnepp stated that the board had fulfilled its promise to quickly find the "best person to lead Danone." Regarding the choice of Antoine as the new CEO, Gilles Schnepp said: "Antoine is an outstanding leader in the consumer goods industry with a series of achievements in innovation and strategic execution. Importantly, Antoine combines strategic vision, international consumer goods experience, and operational execution, which will inject new vitality into Danone." According to information, before joining Danone, Antoine served at the globally renowned chocolate and cocoa manufacturer Barry Callebaut, where he had been CEO since October 2015. Data shows that from the time Antoine took the helm until his announced departure in April this year, Barry Callebaut's share price nearly doubled. Before the pandemic last year, the company's sales rose 17%, and profit grew by more than two-thirds. Before joining Barry Callebaut, Antoine also served as Executive Vice President of Unilever's skincare business, leading well-known brands such as Dove, Lux, Lifebuoy, and Pond's. From 2005 to 2009, Antoine was Executive Vice President for Unilever in Central and Eastern Europe, responsible for 21 markets. Danone is clearly satisfied with Antoine's track record and believes he can help achieve its future strategic development. Gilles Schnepp said Antoine excels at achieving purpose-driven growth strategies in a sustainable manner, a capability highly aligned with Danone's mission and long-term goals. Antoine will have all the authority and resources of a CEO to fully assess and guide Danone's future strategic direction. -02- Facing a major performance test "In taking on the CEO role at Danone, Antoine faces multiple challenges, including restructuring corporate governance, implementing the 'Local First' strategy, and boosting performance. Among these, driving share price and performance growth is an urgent issue for both Danone and Antoine," said dairy industry expert Song Liang. Since the second quarter of 2020, Danone has been on a downward trajectory. Data shows that in Q2 2020, Danone's total revenue was €5.954 billion (approximately RMB 46.881 billion), down 8.3% year-on-year; in H1 2020, revenue was €12.189 billion (approximately RMB 95.975 billion), down 1.1% year-on-year; in Q3 2020, the decline widened to 5.7% to €5.821 billion (approximately RMB 45.834 billion); for the full year 2020, Danone's sales fell 1.5% to €23.6 billion (approximately RMB 184.519 billion). As performance declined, Danone's share price also fell to recent lows. Relevant data shows that in 2020, Danone's share price fell 27%, hitting a seven-year low. Gilles Schnepp recently noted that "the poor share price performance led to a 'media storm' and created tension among shareholders." This is also seen by the industry as the trigger for the CEO change. To return to growth as quickly as possible, after the Q3 2020 results release in October 2020, Danone announced three major decisions. First, strengthen brand portfolio advantages and differentiation through investment, optimize execution, reshape the organizational structure, and conduct a strategic review of the business portfolio; second, use a €1 billion cost-saving plan to increase support for innovation and brand development; third, strengthen oversight of management's execution plans. Subsequently, Danone also launched a new "Local First" strategic plan, including granting autonomy to local business units to get as close as possible to consumers and local markets, and delegating decision-making to country business leaders. At the same time, Danone also announced the sale of its 9.8% stake in China Mengniu Dairy, ending the eight-year "marriage." "Now, a major challenge for the new CEO is to reverse Danone's declining performance. Antoine created high growth for his former employer Barry Callebaut, which may be the main reason Danone chose him as the new CEO. However, given the sluggish traditional business, it remains difficult to say whether Antoine can help Danone achieve performance growth," Song Liang said. Source: Beijing Business Today · FMCG Eight Talks, Authors: Qian Yu, Wang Xiao Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted.