Press release – Paris, August 20^th, 2019

Appointment to Danone’s Executive Committee:
Nigyar MAKHMUDOVA becomes
Executive Vice President, Growth & Innovation

Today, Danone announced the appointment of Nigyar MAKHMUDOVA as Executive Vice President, Growth & Innovation. In this role, she will be responsible for overseeing the company’s global Marketing, Innovation, R&D, Digital and Sales functions. Reporting directly to Emmanuel Faber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, she will be a member of Danone’s Executive Committee effective today.

“We are very excited to welcome Nigyar to Danone. She brings a wealth of global experience in driving the growth of businesses, brands and people” said Emmanuel Faber. “Her inclusive leadership style and vast experience in building purpose-led brands will be a tremendous asset, as we continue to harness innovation, technology and new business models to bring our ‘One Planet. One Health’ vision to life. I am also extremely proud to lead an Executive Committee with a wealth of diverse professional and cultural experiences and backgrounds to make us win as a company”.

Born in Azerbaijan and with 25+ years of experience in pharmaceutical and FMCG companies across many countries, Nigyar spent the past 21 years with Mars Incorporated, and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Petcare business for the last 10 years. Before being Global President of Mars Pet Nutrition - a business of 10bn+ US dollars turnover, present in 100+ markets with 80+ factories, 15,000 employees and a wide portfolio of the world’s most famous brands - she was Regional President for Europe, Russia and South Africa. She also served as Global CMO for Petcare, establishing the function, turbo-charging the innovation pipe-line, and kicking off digitalization.

“I am excited to join Danone at this important time as the company continues to accelerate its growth through excellence in execution and innovation to deliver its 2030 Goals under Emmanuel Faber’s leadership” said Nigyar Makhmudova. “I have long admired Danone for its bold vision, its innovative culture, its strong portfolio of brands and its extensive international footprint. I look forward to working with Danone’s people across the globe to further strengthen its performance and future-proof the business”.
More on Nigyar Makhmudova

Nigyar Makhmudova is a Non-Executive Board Director of Jungbunzlauer, one of the world’s leading producers of biodegradable ingredients of natural origin. She has a business degree from Nottingham Business School, UK, and a Science degree in Molecular Biology from Moscow State University, Russia. Born in Azerbaijan, Nigyar has lived and worked in 5 countries across 3 continents; she will also bring cultural diversity and a fresh perspective to the Danone Executive Committee.

About Danone (www.danone.com)

Dedicated to bringing health through food to as many people as possible, Danone is a leading global food & beverage company building on health-focused and fast-growing categories in three businesses: Essential Dairy & Plant-Based Products, Waters and Specialized Nutrition. Danone aims to inspire healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices, in line with its ‘One Planet. One Health’ vision which reflects a strong belief that the health of people and that of the planet are interconnected. To bring this vision to life and create superior, sustainable, profitable value for all its stakeholders, Danone has defined its 2030 Goals: a set of nine integrated goals aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Danone commits to operating in an efficient, responsible and inclusive manner; it holds itself to the highest standards in doing business, as reflected by its ambition to become one of the first multinationals certified as B Corp^TM. With more than 100,000 employees, and products sold in over 120 markets, Danone generated €24.7 billion in sales in 2018. Danone’s portfolio includes leading international brands (Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, Danette, Danio, Danonino, evian, Nutricia, Nutrilon, Volvic, among others) as well as strong local and regional brands (including AQUA, Blédina, Bonafont, Cow & Gate, Horizon, Mizone, Oikos, Prostokvashino, Silk, Vega).
Listed on Euronext Paris and on the OTCQX market via an ADR (American Depositary Receipt) program, Danone is a component stock of leading social responsibility indexes including the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, Vigeo Eiris, the Ethibel Sustainability Index, MSCI Global Sustainability, MSCI Global SRI Indexes and the FTSE4Good Index.

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