COPENHAGEN: It has been announced by the Carlsberg Group company that the president and CEO Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen is going to retire this year.
“Now is the right time to make a change to secure progress and continuity at the top executive level,” Flemming Besenbacher, the chairman of the Supervisory Board, said in a statement. “Jørgen is handing over a Carlsberg with a transformed geographic footprint and a more commercially capable and efficient organization.”
Rasmussen’s successor, Cees ‘t Hart, will take over his post on 15 June
“Carlsberg is a fantastic company with a great heritage, strong brands and very passionate people,” Rasmussen commented. “I am very proud to have led such a great company and will work to ensure a smooth transition to Cees. It is the right time for change for the company and for me.”
Cees‘t Hart has been CEO of the Dutch dairy company Royal FrieslandCampina since 2008. He facilitated the merger of two former competitors, Friesland Foods and Campina.
During that period, company revenues grew from 8.2 to 11.4 billion euro.
Royal FrieslandCampina is now one of the most successful dairies in the world, with operations in 32 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
“I am very pleased to be taking on the leadership of the Carlsberg Group. I look forward to working together with the leadership team and developing future strategies for sustainable and profitable growth,” Hart noted.
Along with the announcement of Rasmussen’s retirement, the Carlsberg Group published its financial overview for 2014. The company earned 64.5 billion kroner in net revenue, a two percent growth, and increased its operating profits by one percent.
The Group increased its shares in the majority of markets in Western Europe and Asia, but the overall beer sales dropped by three percent due to the conflicts in Eastern Europe.
“In 2014, we had clear priorities and focused on execution, enabling us to deliver strong organic performance in Western Europe and Asia, which more than offset the market challenges in Eastern Europe,” Rasmussen said in a statement.
“For 2015, we’ll continue to support and invest in our brands and markets to capture long-term opportunities in our regions. In response to the current situation we’ve built a strong operating plan which includes changes to our business model with the aim to achieve further efficiency improvements faster.”
