Chr. Hansen appoints new CEO: Graber to take the helm in June 2018

08 Jan 2018 --- The Board of Directors of Chr. Hansen Holding A/S has appointed Mauricio Graber as new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as of June 1, 2018. Mauricio Graber (54) has been President of the Flavours Division of Givaudan S.A. and a member of Givaudan’s Executive Committee since 2006.

Chr. Hansen’s current CEO, Cees the Jong, will continue as acting CEO until Graber takes up his new position on June 1, 2018.

Graber holds a BSc in Electronic Engineering from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico, and a Masters in Management from the JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, USA. His professional career started in 1989 with The Nutrasweet Company in the USA as Business Development Manager. After two years in the role, he returned to Mexico in 1991 to become Regional Head of North Latin America.

In 1995, he joined the US-based flavor company Tastemaker as Regional President of Latin America. In 1997, Tastemaker was acquired by the industry leader Givaudan, and subsequently Graber was appointed Regional President of Latin America of the combined regional business. From his new base in Brazil, he continued in that role until 2006 when he was appointed President of the Flavours division based in Switzerland.

Over the past 10 years, Graber has led Givaudan Flavours to strengthen its global industry leadership position. He has built a customer-centric culture, accelerated commercialization of innovation, invested in developing markets, driven productivity programs, and delivered both organic growth and successful integration of strategic acquisitions. In addition, he has developed internal talents and built a strong organization.

Ole Andersen, Chairman of the Board of Directors comments: “I am delighted to announce Mauricio Graber as new CEO of Chr. Hansen as of June 1, 2018. With over 20 years of experience in the global ingredients industry, he is a truly international executive. Mauricio brings a strong track record and extensive global leadership experience from his current position. I am excited that Mauricio will take over as new CEO of Chr. Hansen and am convinced he is well suited to contribute to the continued strong performance and growth in Chr. Hansen.”

“I have followed Chr. Hansen for many years and am very impressed with its unique position and the strong results continuously being delivered. I am very excited to relocate to Copenhagen and join the company. I really look forward to meeting and beginning to work with the company’s leadership team and its many committed employees,” says Graber.

As a result of the appointment, Givaudan subsequently announced that Louie D’Amico will take over as President of the Flavour Division and a member of the Executive Committee. Louie D’Amico, currently Head of Flavours Americas, will work closely with Mauricio Graber to ensure a smooth transition over the coming months. The changes to the Givaudan Executive Committee will be effective April 1, 2018.

Gilles Andrier, CEO of Givaudan, said: “On behalf of Givaudan’s leadership team, I would like to thank Mauricio Graber for his significant contribution in driving the successful development and expansion of our Flavours business. Based on his strong customer focus, strategic vision and excellent leadership, he has built a highly performing Flavours business and leadership team over the past 10 years. I wish him great success in his new appointment.” He continued: “Louie D’Amico brings a true passion for customers, a deep understanding of consumer trends and markets, as well as strong people management skills to this role. He will continue to expand our global market leadership and evolve our flavor solutions to the needs of a fast changing food and beverage market.”

Louie D’Amico is a US-citizen born in 1961. He joined Givaudan in 1989 as a key account manager with Tastemaker. During his 28-year career, he held various senior leadership positions as Head of the North America Sweet Goods business unit and later the North America Savoury business unit. From 2003 to 2010, he was based in Europe as Head of International Key Account Management, then Head of the Global Beverage business unit and later Commercial Head of EAME. In 2010, he relocated back to the USA as Head of Flavours Americas. Louie D’Amico has a BSc in chemistry from Michigan State University.