Danone’s Board of Directors to initiate a composition renewal
program
Press Release – Paris, July 29, 2021
Danone’s Board of
Directors to initiate
a composition renewal program
As part of the transition initiated earlier this
year on the company’s governance framework, Danone’s Board of
Directors, following a meeting on July 28, decided on a number of
evolutions to its upcoming composition.
Last March, the Board of Directors decided to
separate the functions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
This first step led to the appointment on March 14 of Gilles
Schnepp as Independent Chairman and, on May 17, to the appointment
of a Chief Executive Officer with a strong FMCG experience, Antoine
de Saint-Affrique, who will join the company on September 15.
The second step announced today corresponds to
an overhaul of the Board’s composition. It has been proposed by all
the members of the Board and aims at serving Danone’s performance
and mission for the years to come.
This overhaul will entail the renewal of
Danone’s Board of Directors and will be completed by Danone’s 2023
Shareholders’ Meeting. The Directors whose terms end in April 2022
decided not to seek the renewal of their mandates. The other
Directors, with the exception of the Chairman and the two Directors
representing employees, decided not to seek, with one year of
anticipation, the renewal of their current mandates - with effect
from the Shareholders’ Meetings of April 2022 or 2023.
At the 2022 and 2023 Shareholder’s Meetings, the
election of new Directors will be proposed with the aim of
constituting a Board of Directors composed of 12 members (including
the two Directors representing employees). As announced on May 17,
the Board will propose the candidacy of Antoine de Saint-Affrique
as a Director at the next Shareholder’s Meeting.
On his decision not to seek the renewal
of his Director mandate in April 2022, Franck Riboud, former
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer:“I am happy that a
new cycle is beginning for Danone and the Board. My only aspiration
remains to serve Danone as well as possible and to strongly support
Antoine de Saint-Affrique in his work to put Danone back on its
growth path. This Board evolution will, I am sure, facilitate the
implementation of his project. I, for certain, will obviously be
keen to continue to assume the role of Honorary President as it is
envisaged at Danone. It will allow me, with a caring yet demanding
perspective of the company and its teams, to continue to actively
promote the vision and the managerial and entrepreneurial culture
of this unique group. The very ones that have built the success of
Danone for so many years.”
On the decision of the Board of
Directors, Gilles Schnepp,
Chairman:“I would first like to thank all of the Directors
who wanted these major evolutions to be decided in a collegial and
responsible way. This Board of Directors demonstrated its
commitment and ability to take decisions in the sole interest of
the company. The overhaul of Danone’s Board of Directors will be
completed in several stages by 2023, allowing the candidates to
prepare for their future responsibilities as Directors while
enabling for an orderly transition. From here on, we will focus on
the next step of Danone’s governance evolution with two objectives:
on the one hand, recruit new talent with strong international
experience and sectorial expertise while ensuring the diversity and
independence of the Board of Directors; and on the other, clarify
the working principles of the Board of Directors within the new
framework of separated governance.”
ANNEX
Composition of Board of
Directors
Since Danone’s 2021 Shareholders’ Meeting, the
Board of Directors has been composed of 13 members, of which 11
Directors elected by the General Assembly, and 2 Directors
representing employees, the latter not being impacted by the
Governance changes announced on July 28.
Nordi Benassem, delegate of the Social and
Economic Committee of Danone SA, also attends the Board of
Directors’ meetings in advisory capacity.
Among the Directors appointed by the
Shareholders’ Meeting, 73% are independent and 45% are women.
Name |
Starting date of Director’s term |
End of current
term |
Guido Barilla |
2018 |
2024 |
Fréderic Boutebba (*) |
2016 |
2023 |
Cécile Cabanis |
2018 |
2024 |
Clara Gaymard |
2016 |
2022 |
Michel Landel |
2018 |
2024 |
Gaëlle Olivier |
2014 |
2023 |
Franck Riboud |
1992 |
2022 |
Gilles Schnepp |
2020 |
2023 |
Isabelle Seillier |
2011 |
2023 |
Jean-Michel Severino |
2011 |
2023 |
Bettina Theissig (*) |
2014 |
2023 |
Serpil Timuray |
2015 |
2024 |
Lionel Zinsou-Derlin |
2014 |
2023 |
(*) Directors representing employees
About Danone
(www.danone.com)
Danone is a leading multi-local food and
beverage company building on health-focused and fast-growing
categories in 3 businesses: Essential Dairy & Plant-Based
products, Waters and Specialized Nutrition. With its ‘One Planet.
One Health’ frame of action, which considers the health of people
and the planet as intimately interconnected, Danone aims to inspire
healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices. To
accelerate this food revolution and create superior, sustainable,
profitable value for all its stakeholders, Danone has defined nine
2030 Goals, and paved the way as the first listed company to adopt
the “Entreprise à Mission” status in France. With a purpose to
bring health through food to as many people as possible, and
corresponding social, societal and environmental objectives set out
in its articles of association, Danone commits to operating in an
efficient, responsible and inclusive manner, in line with the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. By
2025, Danone aims to become one of the first multinational
companies to obtain B Corp™ certification. With more than 100,000
employees, and products sold in over 120 markets, Danone generated
€23.6 billion in sales in 2020. Danone’s portfolio includes leading
international brands (Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, Danette,
Danio, Danonino, evian, Nutricia, Nutrilon, Volvic, among others)
as well as strong local and regional brands (including AQUA,
Blédina, Bonafont, Cow & Gate, Horizon Organic, Mizone, Oikos,
Prostokvashino, Silk). Listed on Euronext Paris and present on the
OTCQX market via an ADR (American Depositary Receipt) program,
Danone is a component stock of leading sustainability indexes
including the ones managed by Vigeo Eiris and Sustainalytics, as
well as the Ethibel Sustainability Index, the MSCI ESG Indexes, the
FTSE4Good Index Series, Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and the
Access to Nutrition Index.
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