Givaudan taps Danone executive to succeed Gilles Andrier as CEO

Givaudan SA on Wednesday said its Chief Executive Gilles Andrier is stepping down from the role and will be succeeded by Danone SA’s Christian Stammkoetter, as the company published a refreshed growth plan.

Andrier steps down on March 1 after two decades at the helm of the Vernier, Switzerland-based manufacturer of fragrances and flavourings. He will stay on as chair ‘to provide strategic oversight’.

Current Non-Executive Chair Calvin Grieder will leave the position on March 19 after a 12-year tenure. Andrier’s transition to chairmanship and Stammkoetter’s appointment as CEO are subject to a vote on March 19.

Christian Stammkoetter is currently president of Asia, Middle East & Africa at Danone.

‘The board is confident that Christian is the right leader to bring our 2030 strategy to life,’ Givaudan said.

The five-year plan targets between 4% and 6% average like-for-like sales growth and more than 12% growth in average free cash flow.

In 2024, sales rose to fr.7.4 billion, which is roughly £6.8 billion, from fr.6.9 billion the previous year. This was an increase of 7.2%, or 12% on a LfL basis. Free cash flow rose by 26% to fr.1.2 billion from fr.920 million.

‘Our ambition for 2030 is to drive sustainable growth with our customers. We will achieve this by leveraging our strengths to further build our position as the undisputed leader in our core business of fragrances and flavours, as well as in selected high value-added adjacencies in alignment with our purpose and our targeted financial profile,’ Andrier commented on Wednesday.

Besides growing its customer base, Givaudan plans to intensify its presence in existing ‘high growth markets’ and expanding its offering to include more ‘biotech beauty actives’, pet food ingredients and wellbeing products.

Givaudan shares were 0.8% lower at fr.3,378.00 on Wednesday morning in Zurich.

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