Dive Brief:
- Calida Group CFO Sacha Gerber has stepped down to take on a “new professional challenge,” the company announced Monday. Gerber will be leaving the group in order to take the top financial seat at Swiss dairy-product producer Emmi Group.
- Gerber will move into the producer’s CFO chair as its present financial head Ricarda Demarmels moves up the C-suite ladder.
- Demarmels will be taking the CEO position effective Jan.1 2023, according to the group. Emmi Group’s current CEO will become chairman of its board, according to the group’s release.
Dive Insight:
Gerber, who took the financial helm of the company four years ago, is leaving Calida for another Swiss-based company, this time in the food industry. Prior to holding the top financial seat at Calida, he held posts with the food manufacturer Hero and the Swatch Group, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The finance chief is joining Emmi Group as their previous CFO moves up the ranks to take on the CEO position. Demarmels, who also serves as a member of the group’s executive committee, is a three-year veteran of the dairy producer. She also serves as a board member and chairman of the audit committee for environmental and flow sensor manufacturer Sensirion, according to her LinkedIn profile.
"Sacha D. Gerber's skills and values make him a great fit for Emmi and our corporate culture. He combines Swiss values with a profound wealth of international experience, and has a broad range of expertise from his activities at iconic companies operating successfully in an international context,” said Urs Riedener, current CEO of the Emmi Group, who will be replaced by Demarmels in 2023, according to a company statement.
Emmi Group announced on Aug. 18 that it had a 7.1% increase in half year sales. The company noted its portfolio transformation, the Athenos business in the U.S. and the “recovery in the food service sector” as factors partially responsible for the growth.
In the U.S, CFOs in the food industry have been grappling with soaring ingredient and input costs with food prices surging 10.9% — the biggest gain since 1979.
Calida Group said in its release that the search for an interim CFO will begin immediately following Gerber’s departure.
The CFO switch follows a few months after Calida Group’s half year financial results, released July 28. “We are aware that the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties as well as the COVID pandemic could impact business development in the second half of the year,” said Timo Schmidt-Eisenhart, CEO of the Swiss luxury underwear brand in a statement on the 2022 half-year results.
All Calida Group brands, which include Cosabella, Rich Online Solutions, On My Skin and Lafuma experienced positive growth despite volatile global markets in the first half of 2022, according to the company statement.
The Swiss firm, which includes furniture as well as underwear brands, cited their omni-channel business model as one of the factors responsible for its sales growth during the first half of 2022.
