Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff Carr is set to depart the Strepsils maker ahead of the new chief executive officer taking over later this year.
The announcement will be made as early as this week, according to sources familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the information has yet to be released. The moves come months after the group, which makes everything from detergent to infant formula, chose insider Kris Licht as its CEO. He’s set to take the reins before the end of 2023. Rival Unilever Plc is also making big changes with a new CEO, CFO and chairman.
Upheaval in the C-suite hasn’t been confined to the packaged-goods industry. Adidas, Carlsberg and Diageo have also recently named new top executives.
Carr joined Reckitt in 2020 from Dutch retailer Royal Ahold Delhaize NV. He also served as CFO at First Group Plc and EasyJet Plc.
Nicandro Durante, the former head of British American Tobacco Plc, has been running Reckitt as interim CEO after the surprise exit of Laxman Narasimhan in September, who left to take take the top post at Starbucks. Chairman Chris Sinclair has been on the board for almost nine years.
Like other consumer goods companies, Reckitt is struggling with falling volumes as shoppers struggle with high levels of inflation. The company is hoping a string of new products within brands like Mucinex, Vanish and Lysol will fuel sales growth.
Reckitt Shares Slump as Higher Prices Dent Sales Volumes
Licht, who will give investors a fuller update on the business later this year, said on an analyst call in July that Reckitt’s portfolio is “excellent,” but can be tweaked. He also signaled the company could cut costs.
