The head of Carlsberg has confirmed his intention to retire later this year after eight years at the helm.
Cees ‘t Hart, who moved across to the group from Netherlands-based Royal FrieslandCampina in mid-2015, will step down before the end of September. Carlsberg said today that the recruitment process for a new CEO is underway, with an appointment set to be announced “in due course”.
‘T Hart turns 65 this year.
The news prompted a dip in Carlsberg’s ‘B’ shares this morning, from DKK1,011 at yesterday’s close to a low of DKK991.4 at 0900 CET.
Replacing Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen as CEO eight years ago, ‘t Hart inherited a company that had bet big at the time on Russia’s beer market. The full takeover of the country’s Baltic Beverages Holding business, through a joint acquisition with Heineken of Scottish & Newcastle in 2008, was designed to capitalise on the healthy growth of the beer category in the market. However, a combination of increased regulations and a weaker economic outlook contributed to Buhl Rasmussen’s decision to leave Carlsberg.
Russia remains a high profile at the end of ‘t Hart’s tenure as well: Carlsberg confirmed almost a year ago that it would sell off its operations in the country in light of the invasion of Ukraine. In the results statement for 2022, released last month, the company said the divestment had not been completed yet.
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