Peter Boone resigns as Barry Callebaut CEO

The change in the Executive Committee of Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest cocoa and chocolate manufacturer, was announced in a brief press release ahead of the Group’s scheduled Half Year Results Media and Analyst Conference later this morning.

Feld’s experience includes a strong track record in developing international businesses and was previously CEO of Jacobs Holding. He has leadership experience in companies on almost every continent.

“We are delighted that Peter Feld, a seasoned leader with over 30 years’ experience at top global consumer goods and services companies, is joining Barry Callebaut. His track record with international brands is exceptional. In addition, he 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 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, and 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. Feld holds a Master in Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen.

“It is a great honour to assume responsibility as CEO of Barry Callebaut. Chocolate is a life-long 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,”​ he said.

In a statement, Patrick De Maeseneire, Chairman of Barry Callebaut Board of Directors, said: “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Peter Boone for his more than 10 years of service to Barry Callebaut. As a next step, he has decided to set up life closer to home to be able to spend more time with his family. We wish him all the best for his future endeavours​.”

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. Boone was also appointed Chairman of the World Cocoa Foundation, and it is unclear whether he has also resigned from that role at the time of writing.

In its Half Year 2022-23 Results, the Group posted a sales volume decline of -2.9% due to the knock-on effects of the temporary shutdown of its main Wieze factory in Belgium due to a Salmonella outbreak at the end of June 2022.

More to follow …​