LUXEMBOURG – JAB Holding Co., which has controlling stakes in Keurig, Dr Pepper, Panera Bread Co. and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, among others, has announced several organizational changes as part of its global expansion.
Bart Becht, partner and chairman of JAB, has announced his intent to retire later this year after nearly 40 years in the branded consumer business.
“Bart has been a valued member of the JAB team for many decades,” said Peter Harf, senior partner. “Having worked with him since our days at RB, I will miss our day-to-day interactions on a personal level but wish him all the best during his well-deserved retirement.”
Harf and Olivier Goudet, partner and CEO, will continue to lead JAB and oversee its investment strategy.
JAB said Fabien Simon, Ricardo Rittes and Jacek Szarzynski have joined the company in key roles that will continue JAB’s strategy of long-term value creation.
Simon, a French national, has been named partner and chief financial officer. He spent four years at JAB’s portfolio company Jacobs Douwe Egberts, where he oversaw the integration of Douwe Egberts and the coffee business of Mondelez to create JDE, led its merger and acquisition strategy, and transformed JDE into a global powerhouse in coffee. Prior to working at JDE, Simon spent 14 years at Mars, holding many leadership roles, including in pet care and in the Asia/Pacific regions.
Rittes, a Brazilian national, will join the JAB Partnership and lead expansion into emerging markets by opening a new office in São Paulo. Prior to JAB he spent 14 years at Anheuser Busch Inbev as global treasurer and also has served as CFO of Ambev, a publicly listed company controlled by ABI.
Szarzynski, a Polish national, will join JAB as lead operating partner for JAB’s newly created Pret Panera Holding Co., where he will be responsible for the overall long-term success of the platform. He joins the company after a 24-year career at Mars, where he held several leadership positions in a number of major businesses.
“I deeply appreciate Bart’s dedication to working with our portfolio companies over the years and thank him for his contribution to JAB,” Goudet said. “At the same time, we are excited to further strengthen our team with Fabien, Ricardo and Jacek, all of whom have impeccable track records of long-term shareholder value creation in the consumer industry.”