Case

Danone: leadership change and governance

On 15 March 2021 Danone's board announced that Emmanuel Faber would step down as chairman and CEO; Gilles Schnepp became chairman at once and two regional chiefs ran the business pending a new CEO (Danone press release). Artisan Partners and Bluebell Capital had pressed for his replacement (CNBC). More than 99% of shareholders approved société à mission status in June 2020; Levillain et al. (2022) report that the mission committee kept the commitment and set up a check and balance on board decisions.

Industry: Food and beverages (France)
Frameworks applied: Strategic leadership through four control mechanisms

Frameworks applied

This case is read through the frameworks below.

Strategic leadership through four control mechanismsWhen an approved strategy fails to move the organisation, which lever should the CEO tighten: resource allocation, decision rights, escalation or review?

Sources

References

Listed A–Z by author surname, Harvard style. A source with a DOI links to https://doi.org/…; one without links to its page or says plainly that it has no DOI.

CNBC (2021) Danone confirms ousting of Faber as chairman and CEO after activist pressure. CNBC.No DOIcnbc.com Source page
Danone (2021) New governance at Danone: Emmanuel Faber steps down as Chairman and CEO; Gilles Schnepp appointed non-executive Chairman. Danone press release, 15 March 2021.No DOIdanone.com Source page
Levillain, K. et al. (2022) The emergence of multipolar corporate governance: the case of Danone and the French Société à Mission. EURAM 2022 conference paper (HAL).No DOIhal.science Source page