Barry Callebaut Names Third CEO in Five Years After Cocoa Shock
(Bloomberg) — Barry Callebaut AG appointed former Unilever Plc boss Hein Schumacher to succeed Peter Feld as chief executive officer, as the world’s biggest bulk chocolate maker grapples with the fallout from record cocoa prices.
Schumacher will take the helm on Jan. 26, while Feld pursues other career opportunities, according to a statement on Wednesday from Barry Callebaut. Schumacher will be the third CEO appointed in less than five years.
Feld restructured the firm’s grinding operation to prioritize the higher margin chocolate making business, after Barry Callebaut was hit by wild swings in cocoa prices and higher financing costs. But volumes still slumped by almost 10% — more than analysts expected — in the first quarter of the firm’s fiscal year.
“Trust in the previous leadership had been eroded for about a year, so a CEO change was long overdue,” Matteo Lindauer, an analyst at Vontobel Holding AG, said in a note. Schumacher’s appointment “lands like a small bombshell,” he said, while upgrading the bank’s recommendation to a “buy” from a “hold.”
Barry Callebaut rose as much as 7.9% in Zurich trading, before paring gains. The shares have recovered from a decade low reached last year, but are still more than 40% below their record set in 2021.
The company reported a 22% slump in sales volume at its cocoa division for the three months ending Nov. 30, citing “negative market demand and a prioritization of volume toward higher-return segments within cocoa.” That confirmation of weak demand helped push cocoa down as much as 8.7% in New York to the lowest in two years.
Barry Callebaut Chairman Patrick De Maeseneire said he sees no reason to sell the company’s cocoa business after speculation around the plan emerged in December. Feld said the priority over the rest of this year would be returning to growth and further deleveraging.
“We remain fully committed to our integrated cocoa and chocolate strategy which creates significant competitive advantage and value for all stakeholders,” the outgoing CEO said.
Revenue beat the average estimate, as Barry Callebaut works through stockpiles of pricey beans accumulated over the previous two years, according to an earnings report published Wednesday.
Schumacher was CEO at Unilever from 2023 until 2025, when he was pushed out in a signal the board wasn’t satisfied with the pace of restructuring at the major consumer goods company.
Schumacher began to walk back the Anglo-Dutch multinational’s ESG commitments, to focus on profits — a major shift for the company that has made sustainability and equality core pillars but has watched performance suffer in recent years.
Before joining Unilever, Schumacher served as CEO of dairy cooperative Royal FrieslandCampina and worked at the company now known as Kraft Heinz Co.
Some analysts hope the company can leverage Schumacher’s relationships with key customers.
“He is the right leader at this stage to chart Barry Callebaut’s next phase,” Chairman Maeseneire said in the statement. “The board and Peter decided that now is the right time for a CEO transition.”
–With assistance from Mumbi Gitau, Jillian Deutsch and Levin Stamm.
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