Nestle has selected health care executive Ulf Mark Schneider as its new CEO, the first chief executive brought in from outside the company since 1922 as the food and drinks giant seeks to evolve into a nutrition, health and wellness business.
The company based in Vevey, Switzerland, announced late Monday that Schneider, a 50-year-old German and American dual national, will succeed current CEO Paul Bulcke starting Jan. 1. Schneider has headed health care giant Fresenius Group since 2003.
Bulcke is taking over as non-executive chairman from Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who is retiring after 50 years with the company known for its eponymous chocolates as well as bottled water, Dreyer's ice cream, Gerber baby food and Lean Cuisine frozen meals.
Brabeck-Letmathe noted the transition amid an "increasingly difficult external environment" for Nestle, which reported a 37 percent drop in net profit last year due to a stronger Swiss franc and one-time items linked to deal-making.
Nestle also has been beset by product recalls, notably a setback to its Asian operations last year after pulling Maggi noodles from store shelves in India for five months after the popular snack was found to contain lead above permissible limits.
Schneider's appointment appears to reflect Nestle's push into health and nutrition, an area many large food makers are trying to highlight. Since 2011, the company has operated its Nestle Institute of Health Sciences, which researches and develops "nutritional solutions for the maintenance of health."
Food companies in general have sought to burnish their reputations on health and nutrition matters to address concerns about growing obesity rates. Nestle said earlier this year it supported the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's guidelines for voluntary sodium reduction for food makers, and announced its own plans to further reduce sodium in its products.
And candy giant Mars, which makes M&Ms, Snickers and other products including Uncle Ben's rice, recently announced plans to label its food products as "everyday" and "occasional," to help people make better choices. Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. in 2014 also pledged to reduce the calories Americans get from beverages by 20 percent over the next decade by more aggressively marketing smaller sizes and diet drinks.
In some cases, the moves reflect the direction consumers were headed in anyway. The calories people get from drinks, for instance, had already been falling in recent years as people shifted toward diet drinks, according to industry tracker Beverage Digest.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More