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Appointments to the Executive Committee…

Posted: 14 September 2011 | Danone | No comments yet

Thomas Kunz named Executive Vice President, Fresh Dairy Products & Francisco Camacho named Executive Vice President, Waters…

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Effective October 1, 2011

– Thomas Kunz is appointed Executive Vice President, Fresh Dairy Products, replacing Jordi Constans who is leaving Danone to pursue his career outside the Group. A Swiss national, Thomas Kunz has served as Executive Vice President, Waters since 2004. He previously held a number of positions in Fresh Dairy Products, including head of subsidiaries in the United States and Mexico.

– Francisco Camacho, a Mexican national, is appointed Executive Vice President, Waters. He was previously head of Latin American operations for the Fresh Dairy Products division, and with this new position joins the Group’s Executive Committee.

Francisco Camacho will be replaced in his previous position by Rafaël Pamias Romero, who currently heads the Waters Division’s Latin American operations.

Thomas Kunz and Francisco Camacho report to Bernard Hours, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Danone.

Commenting on these appointments, Danone CEO Franck Riboud said:

“Thomas Kunz was a natural choice. With more than 20 years’ experience at Danone in Germany, Mexico, Argentina and the United States, including in particular our fresh dairy product business, Thomas knows both our products and markets inside out. With admirable focus, he has spearheaded the transformation of our Waters division and will now be putting all his talent to work to develop business in our Fresh Dairy Products division. He will be replaced in his current position by Francisco Camacho. After making a decisive contribution to the success of our Bonafont brand in Mexico, Francisco has in recent years led the growth of our Fresh Dairy Products in Latin America. He brings to this new position his in-depth knowledge of emerging markets, markets that today account for over half of the Waters division’s sales. Finally, as Jordi Constans takes his leave, I would like to thank him for his many contributions to the growth of the Fresh Dairy Products division’s leading brands for over 20 years”.

Brief biographies: Thomas Kunz and Francisco Camacho

Thomas Kunz, age 54, is a Swiss national who holds a degree in economics from Université de Saint-Gall in Switzerland. He began his career in 1983 with Procter & Gamble where he held a range of marketing positions, first in Switzerland, then in Germany.

Thomas Kunz joined Danone in 1990 as head of marketing for the Fresh Dairy Products subsidiary in Germany. He moved up to become General Manager of Danone Mexico in 1995, and then of Bagley (Biscuits) in Argentina in 1998. In 1999 he was appointed General Manager of Fresh Dairy Product business in North America. He was named Executive Vice President, Waters, in 2004, and became a member of Danone’s Executive Committee.

Francisco Camacho, age 46, is Mexican and holds a degree in Computer Engineering and an MBA from Tecnologico de Monterrey (ITESM) in Mexico. He started his career at Procter & Gamble where he rose through a series of marketing positions in Mexico and Latin America. In 1998, he joined Revlon and held senior management positions in Venezuela, Chile, Brazil and Mexico.

In 2000, Francisco Camacho joined Danone as head of Bonafont, the Waters division subsidiary in Mexico. He was in charge of Evian North America in 2002 and Danone Argentina in 2004, and in 2007 became General Manager of the region comprising Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Since 2009, he has managed Latin American business for the Fresh Dairy Products division.

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