Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprüngli has announced president and CEO Ernst Tanner is to be replaced by chief financial officer Dr Dieter Weisskopf.
Tanner intends to focus on the role of executive chairman, vacating the chief executive post by the end of 2016. As executive chairman, Tanner will concentrate on the long-term strategic direction of the company, Lindt said.
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Announcing the move, Lindt said the transition underlined its “commitment to continuity of further growth”. Dr Wiesskopf and Tanner have worked together and “played an important role” at Lindt for “more than 20 years”, the company noted.
“Thanks to our strong culture we have built a great foundation to further strengthen our position as the worldwide leading premium chocolate company. I am very pleased that I can hand over the CEO responsibilities to Dr Dieter Weisskopf, who will together with the group management and my support continue our success story,” Tanner said.
Responding to the news, MainFirst analyst Alain Oberhuber said that there were three main positives coming out of the announcement. “One, corporate governance improves: conflict of interest will gradually vanish and reputational risk will be reduced. Two, successorship with management and not with a family member. And, three, [the] continuation of ownership with no take-over risk.”
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