Danone's board of directors met on Thursday to validate the group's annual accounts but the issue of its governance was not on the agenda, a source close to the matter told AFP. that CEO Emmanuel Faber is in the midst of a crisis of mistrust.
Read also: "We just want Danone to be managed properly"
“A board of directors met to close the accounts. That was the sole purpose of the meeting. Governance was not on the agenda
,
”
according to this source.
The agri-food giant is due to present its 2020 results on Friday morning, expected at half mast.
Emmanuel Faber has been targeted for several weeks by the offensives of investment funds, entered into the capital thanks to the fall in the stock market price.
He recently announced a reorganization providing in particular for 2000 job cuts, out of the 100,000 that Danone has worldwide.
"An urgent change"
The position of Emmanuel Faber, managing director of the French flagship since 2014 and CEO since 2017, is weakened by funds that demand his departure, deeming the performance of the company insufficient without the Covid-19 crisis being sufficient to explain it .
Last week, the American investment fund Artisan Partners, now the group's third shareholder with around 3% of the capital, published a letter asking for an
"urgent change"
at the head of Danone.
Read also: Danone: Emmanuel Faber, a committed utopian caught up with realities
The warning shot came a few weeks after a small London activist fund, Bluebell Capital, called in more direct terms for the CEO's departure.
The two funds want the group to separate the functions of chairman and general manager, occupied by Emmanuel Faber.
On Monday, two employee unions defended Danone's governance model.
