U.S investment company Artisan Partners on Wednesday said that Danone needed to appoint a new, independent chairman, adding more pressure on Emmanuel Faber who holds that position at the French food company.
This week, Danone said Faber - who until now has combined the CEO and chairman roles - would stay on as chairman and oversee the search for a new chief executive.
"With Mr. Faber as chairman, the incoming CEO will not have the appropriate latitude to set a new direction," wrote Artisan, which has a stake of around 3% in Danone.
Artisan Partners' letter to Danone's board of management echoed a similar position from investment company Bluebell, which also said Danone should appoint another independent chairman instead of Faber.
Activist investors say Danone - whose brands include Evian and Actimel - needs a management revamp as they believe that under Faber's tenure, Danone's sales growth, margins and share price have lagged rivals, including Perrier-owner Nestle and Unilever, the maker of Cornetto ice cream and Lipton tea.
News by Reuters edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
