Carlsberg Strengthens its Executive Committee and Accelerates Restructuring 

In line with the strategic objective to continuously improve efficiency in all our operations, as well as preparing for future challenges, Carlsberg has announced a number of change initiatives in Denmark, Norway and the Baltic States.

16/01/09 Carlsberg announces new appointments to its Executive Committee and a number of restructuring initiatives in Denmark, Norway and the Baltic States.

Carlsberg strengthens its Executive Committee

Khalil Younes has been appointed Senior Vice President, Group Innovation, Sales & Marketing and Nils Østbirk has been appointed Senior Vice President, Western Europe.

They replace Vice President Jan Hillesland and Senior Vice President Alex Myers respectively. Consequently both will be leaving the Carlsberg Group.

Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen, President & CEO of the Carlsberg Group, said:

“Following the Scottish & Newcastle-acquisition Carlsberg has been transformed into a much larger and more global FMCG company. This requires strong and internationally experienced leadership throughout the organisation. We have an ambitious strategy in place which has driven changes in our processes, organisation and culture. Going forward international experience and strong execution power will be key competencies. Khalil Younes’ and Nils Østbirk's leadership skills and experience in international branding and fast-moving consumer goods will significantly strengthen our executive team. Khalil Younes will also head up a new and fully integrated innovation function as well as Group Sales & Marketing reflecting the importance the Group places on innovation across all aspects of its operations."

Khalil Younes, 45, has for the last 15 years worked for The Coca-Cola Company where he has been responsible for a number of successful brand developments and change processes. He is currently Vice President of their Global Juice Marketing, where he is responsible for 140 brands and a business with a turnover in excess of USD 4bn. Prior to this, he had a series of marketing roles at Coca-Cola in Corporate Marketing, Central Europe, Eurasia and the Middle East and was President of a business unit in Hungary. Khalil Younes previously worked at Procter & Gamble. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Nils Østbirk, 44, is currently Zone Director, Northern Europe at L’Oreal, where he is based in Paris and responsible for operations with a turnover of approximately USD 1bn in 12 countries across Europe. He was previously Managing Director for L’Oreal in Poland and the Netherlands, and prior to that he worked for Philip Morris as head of Indochina. He holds a M.Sc. in Economics & Business Administration from the Copenhagen Business School.

Senior Vice President Jesper Bjørn Madsen who is responsible for the Asia Region has during a number of years been key in building and developing Carlsberg's presence in the region through partnerships and acquisitions, but with the current scale in Asia the future focus will also be on strong operational execution and to further increase brand development. As a consequence of this step change in the region, Jesper Bjørn Madsen will step down and leave the Carlsberg Group.  A search for his successor is under way.
 
Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen said:

“I would like to thank Alex Myers, Jan Hillesland and Jesper Bjørn Madsen for their significant contribution to Carlsberg where they all have had key roles in the development of the Group. We wish them all the best for the future."
 
Khalil Younes will start at Carlsberg 1 February and Nils Østbirk will start 1 March.

Further restructuring of operations in Denmark, Norway and the Baltic States

In line with the strategic objective to continuously improve efficiency in all our operations, as well as preparing for future challenges, Carlsberg has announced a number of change initiatives in Denmark, Norway and the Baltic States.

Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen said, "With these initiatives we continue what we are already doing in a number of our operations such as France, UK and Italy. The changes are driven by market specific developments which vary a great deal from country to country, but overall we are striving to proactively accelerate our efficiency efforts both in terms of timing and scale as we foresee a future market development where we face more uncertainties and risks.

In Denmark, Carlsberg announces plans to simplify and slim its organisation as well as change its terms of distribution. Negotiations with the unions to reduce staffing levels with approximately 150 people have started.

In Norway, Ringnes has decided on a number of initiatives involving significant cost and manning reductions and new and more efficient ways of working.  The changes will be implemented as a response to expected reduced volume impact in 2009 due to higher tax on non-alcoholic beverages as well as a general preparedness to counteract uncertainties in the market place.

Carlsberg Baltic began to restructure its operations already in the last quarter of 2008 following a strong decline in the state economies and increases in excise taxes.  The company responds to these changes which are expected to impact the beer market negatively by accelerating its restructuring program, including reducing staff with 124 people in addition to the 80 people announced in November 2008.  The changes focusing on commercial efficiencies and value management are made across all countries and at all levels resulting in a very streamlined organisation with a significant reduction of the Baltic HQ.