Cécile Béliot appointed chief executive as Bel Group separates chair and CEO roles

The Bel Group has appointed its first women head, naming Cécile Béliot as its new chief executive.

The move comes a year after incumbent chair and chief executive Antoine Fiévet announced his intention to separate the two positions at the head of the company. Fiévet will continue as the chairman of the board.

The group, which owns brands like Babybel, The Laughing Cow, Nurishh and Boursin, said the new governance structure opens a new phase in the deployment of its strategy to develop in three complementary areas of healthy snacking – dairy, fruit and vegetable.

Béliot joined the Bel Group in 2019 as deputy managing director in charge of strategy, markets and growth, and has been working with Fiévet in pursuing the group’s strategy for a sustainable growth model.

She has contributed to the development of new product territories by accelerating innovation and the shift to plant-based products, strengthening the international presence, particularly in the US and China and developing new distribution channels like e-commerce and out-of-home.

“These four years of close and effective collaboration with Cécile Béliot have fostered a real relationship of trust. In a world that is becoming increasingly complex, I am deeply convinced that the continuation of our project requires the establishment of a complementary duo at the head of the company,” Fiévet said.

“Cécile is the leader that the Group needs to deploy its strategy, innovate and accelerate the sustainable growth project that we are developing for Bel, with all our partners.”

Béliot said: “Antoine Fiévet’s vision is clear: a company is sustainable when it demonstrates its usefulness and positive impact on its ecosystem. We share this vision and the commitments it entails. It is an honour and a responsibility to succeed him as CEO to continue to fuel the sustainable growth of the Group.

“The confidence that Antoine Fiévet and the Board of Directors have placed in me commits me to continuing our business model of performance and value creation for all. With our 11,800 employees, we will continue to deploy our ambition of leadership in healthy snacking.”

The 47-year-old is also the second to head the company outside the shareholder family. She previously worked 17 years at the Danone Group.