JDE Peet’s names Luc Vandevelde as its interim CEO replacing Fabien Simon
March 14 - 2024
Coffee Geography Magazine
JDE Peet’s appoints Luc Vandevelde as its interim CEO effective April 2024. Vandevelde, a former chairman and CEO of Marks and Spencer Group and former chairman of Carrefour has served as JDE Peet's lead independent director since the listing of the coffee and tea company in May 2020.
Joachim Creus, CEO of JAB Holding Co, expressed confidence in Vandevelde’s leadership, citing his deep understanding of JDE Peet’s and the coffee industry. Creus emphasized Vandevelde’s capability to drive shareholder value while spearheading the search for a permanent CEO. JAB Holding has a majority stake in JDE Peet's.
JDE Peet's N.V. is an American-Dutch company that owns beverage brands, mostly of coffee, tea and hot chocolate. It was formed in 2015 following the merger of the coffee division of Mondelez International with Douwe Egberts as Jacobs Douwe Egberts. The stock of JDE Peet's is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange.
The company owns brands including: Jacobs Coffee, Douwe Egberts, Moccona, Super Coffee, Owl Coffee, OldTown White Coffee, Kenco and Pickwick, and brewing systems including Senseo and Tassimo. The company was listed in Amsterdam in May 2020. The overhaul marks the latest big change inside the empire of JAB, the European investment group best known for its ownership of Pret A Manger, Coty and Krispy Kreme.
Vandevelde will also replace Olivier Goudet, chair of JDE Peet’s in late May on a permanent basis. Goudet will remain a JDE Peet’s director. In November, JAB made a surprise announcement that Goudet, 59, was standing down as chief executive and would be replaced by Joachim Creus, a 47-year-old lawyer who has been with the group since 2010. Goudet, a prolific dealmaker who joined JAB from Mars over a decade ago, was instrumental in building up the group’s presence in the coffee category through a deal spree that led to the creation of JDE Peet’s. JAB and its affiliates remain the largest shareholders in JDE Peet’s with around 60 per cent of its shares. JDE Peet’s raised €2.25bn in May 2020 from a listing of its shares in Amsterdam at a price of €31.50. The company’s initial public offering took place during the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw consumers stock up on household consumer goods like coffee.