JDE Peet’s, the global coffee giant formed by the recent merger of Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) and Peet’s Coffee, has appointed Fabien Simon as its new Chief Executive, effective 7 September.
Simon – who has served as director at JDE Peet’s since its listing earlier this year – held the role of Chief Financial Officer at JDE from August 2014 to January 2019, in which he oversaw its merger and acquisition strategy.
He also led the company’s listing on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange in May 2020, raising €2.58bn in Europe’s largest IPO of the year. Most recently, Simon has served as a partner and CFO at the company’s main shareholder JAB.
Prior to JDE, he spent 13 years at Mars, holding various finance leadership roles, including Asia Pacific CFO, Vice President and CFO Petcare Europe and Finance Director Europe.
“No one knows this business better than Fabien. Not only did Fabien lead the successful IPO of JDE Peet’s, he oversaw the very creation of JDE and its transformation into a global coffee and tea powerhouse,” said Olivier Goudet, chairman of JDE Peet’s and CEO and managing partner of JAB.
Simon will succeed CEO Casey Keller, who had previously led Peet’s Coffee. He has decided to return to the US to be with his family who have been unable to relocate to Amsterdam due to health and safety implications related to the pandemic.
Goudet added: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Casey for his contributions to this organisation. Casey joined Peet’s Coffee as CEO in 2018 and, under his leadership, achieved strong growth and record market share gains. He then took the helm of JDE Peet’s and demonstrated remarkable leadership and great results amidst an extraordinary operating environment.”
Upon his new position, Simon will step down from all of his other JAB roles, including his board positions at Keurig Dr Pepper and Krispy Kreme and his JAB CFO role.
He commented: “It is a privilege to lead this company into its next phase of growth, building on our unique portfolio of brands, products and channels to meet the needs of our customers and capitalise on the myriad opportunities to gain market share in coffee and tea globally.”
