Barry Callebaut picks Unilever's Saint-Affrique as new chief

[ZURICH] Barry Callebaut AG, the world's biggest maker of bulk chocolate, appointed Unilever's head of food, Antoine de Saint-Affrique, to succeed Juergen Steinemann as chief executive officer this year.

Mr De Saint-Affrique, a French national, will take on the position on Oct 1, the Zurich-based company said in a statement Wednesday. Mr Steinemann, who announced in November he would step down, will become vice chairman.

The announcement comes just three weeks after Unilever said its Chief Financial Officer Jean-Marc Huet will leave. The head of Unilever's hair-care business, Michel Dallemagne, also left the company to become CEO of Finnish cosmetics maker Lumene Oy a month ago.

"Antoine's excellent knowledge of consumer markets, his strong customer and stakeholder focus, his extensive international working experience, and his remarkable success in building and integrating new businesses as well as rebalancing portfolios towards faster-growing geographies and segments made him the right candidate for CEO," Chairman Andreas Jacobs said in the statement.

BLOOMBERG