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The board of JDE Peet’s has elected longtime retail and packaged food industries executive Luc Vandevelde as interim CEO, effective April 1.
Vandevelde, who has also been nominated as chairman of the board of the publicly traded coffee conglomerate, will succeed Fabien Simon.
Simon, a former Mars executive, has occupied the role since September of 2020, overseeing the public offering following the creation of the mega company by JAB Holding Company. Recently, he helped oversee the $260 million acquisition of United States-based Caribou Coffee’s roasting and packaged coffee business, as well as the rollout of a new “deforestation-free” coffee supply chain plan with the firm Enveritas.
The reasons for Simon’s departure have not been made public. In a JDE Peet’s release, current Olivier Goudet thanked Simon for his leadership during a time of “macro disruptions,” such as the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation.
The company said that it is initiating a search process for a permanent CEO. Vandevelde, who is from Belgium, is expected to become the company’s new chairman in May.
“Luc is a seasoned executive who knows JDE Peet’s and the coffee category intimately, and we are confident in his ability to unlock shareholder value while leading the search for a permanent CEO,” JAB CEO Joachim Creus said in the JDE Peet’s announcement.
Vandevelde is the founder and chair of private equity fund management firm Change Capital Partners LLP, as well as the chair of Dubai, UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim Leisure & Entertainment and Cinemas. After more than two decades at Kraft Foods, Vandevelde eventually became chairman of French grocery giant Carrefour, and chairman and CEO of retail giant Marks and Spencer Group.
JDE Peet’s is the owner of U.S. second-wave coffee pioneer Peet’s Coffee, which is the owner of prominent third-wave coffee brands Intelligentsia Coffee and Stumptown Coffee Roasters.
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