The FINANCIAL — Following the Board of Directors held on December 14, Danone announces that it will request its shareholders to approve the appointment of Michel Landel as Board Member as from April 26, 2018, the date of its next Shareholders’ Meeting.
The Board of Directors also decided that following such appointment, Michel Landel would be appointed Lead Independent Director and Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, replacing Jean Laurent who has decided not to stand for reelection at the expiration of his current term of office, according to Danone.
Michel Landel is currently CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the global service leader Sodexo, which operates in 80 countries with 20 billion euros annual revenues and 425,000 employees worldwide, and is a member of the CAC40 and DJSI indices. He started his career with Chase Manhattan Bank and Groupe Poliet, before joining Sodexo more than 30 years ago. Mr Landel has held different positions in Sodexo, including positions in Africa and the US for more than 10 years, and has served as CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee since 2005. He will step down at the next annual shareholders’ meeting of Sodexo on January 23, 2018 in order to take his retirement.
During his tenure as CEO, Michel Landel has transformed Sodexo as the world leader in Quality of Life services, pursuing its international development, expanding its service offering beyond catering, and positioning Sodexo as corporate responsibility leader. His contribution to the performance of the company makes him one of the most respected business leaders; he was recently cited by the Harvard Business Review as one of the top-50 best performing CEOs in 2017.
Michel Landel will bring to the Board his extensive experience and expertise in the international consumer business environment and in change management. As Lead Independent Director, he will oversee the efficient running of the company’s governance structure. The Board has also decided to expand the duties and responsibilities of the Lead Independent Director with regards to setting the Board agenda and the engagement with shareholders. This evolution of governance will solidify the momentum of the new development phase that Danone has entered and enable the company to continue to execute on its transformation journey.
