Barry Callebaut appoints Peter Feld to succeed Peter Boone

SWITZERLAND – Swiss cocoa processor and chocolate manufacturer, Barry Callebaut, has announced the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Boone due to personal reasons and the appointment of Peter Feld as the new CEO of the Group, effective today.

Boone was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Barry Callebaut in September 2021, succeeding Antoine de Saint-Affrique, who left Barry Callebaut to become CEO of Danone. He was also appointed chairman of the World Cocoa Foundation.

Feld, a seasoned leader with over 30 years of experience at top global consumer goods and services companies, is joining Barry Callebaut at a time when the company reported sales volumes in the six months ended Feb. 28 fell 2.9% to 1.13 million tonnes.

He has a strong track record in developing international businesses and also has many years of experience in the food industry.

This unique combination makes him the ideal person to further develop Barry Callebaut successfully with a focus on sustainable growth, said Patrick De Maeseneire, Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Feld, who holds a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen, was the previous CEO of Jacobs Holding, headed GfK, one of the world’s leading market research companies, and WMF Group, a leading premium cookware and professional automatic coffee machine maker for private and professional customers.

During his tenure in the companies, Barry Callebaut noted that Feld successfully developed both companies further, concentrating on customer centricity, digitization, and corporate culture to drive future readiness.

In addition, he gained decades of experience in leading positions in the consumer goods industry, namely at Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Beiersdorf.

As former Vice President of the German Brands Association, he has also played a key role in driving forward the topic of sustainable development for the industry.

“It is a great honor to assume responsibility as CEO of Barry Callebaut. Chocolate is a lifelong passion, even more so as I started my career in the food industry. I am very much looking forward to bringing my leadership experience to Barry Callebaut and am excited about writing the next chapter of our success story together with the entire team,” Peter Feld commented.

For the 2023 outlook, the chocolate maker now forecasts full-year volume growth to be “flat to modest,” Chief Financial Officer Ben De Schryver said.

The company said that the sales volumes decline moderated in the second quarter, slowing to -0.5%, from -5.1% in the previous quarter.

Revenue grew 3.7% to 4.2 billion Swiss francs (US$4.64 billion) as the company managed to pass higher raw material costs to customers, it added.

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