JDE Peet’s appoints Interim CEO as Luc Vandevelde unexpectedly steps down

JDE Peet’s sales in the six months to June 2024 increased 5.6% to reach €4.2bn ($4.5bn) | Photo credit: JDE Peet’s

JDE Peet’s Chief Financial Officer Scott Gray has assumed interim CEO responsibilities after Luc Vandevelde stepped down having spent less than five months in the role.
 

Vandevelde became the coffee and tea group’s Interim CEO and Chairman of the Board in April 2024 and was tasked with ‘unlocking shareholder value’ while leading the search for a permanent CEO to replace Fabien Simon. 
 

However, in a press release, Amsterdam-based JDE Peet’s said the former Marks & Spencer CEO has resigned due to ‘unforeseen matters that require his immediate attention’. Vandevelde will now join parent company JAB Holding as a Senior Advisor focused on the FMCG sector, JDE Peet’s added. 
 

The coffee and tea group’s Chief Financial Officer Scott Gray has taken on the additional role of Interim CEO, with JAB Holding Managing Partner Peter Harf named Interim Chairman of the Board.  
 

“Although he can no longer dedicate the time necessary for an executive role at JDE Peet’s, we are pleased that Luc will advise JAB on its FMCG investments with the time he does have available. JAB has strong conviction in the long-term growth prospects of JDE Peet’s, and we are fully committed to our investment in the world’s leading pure-play coffee and tea company,” said Harf.
 

JDE Peet’s said its search process for a permanent CEO is nearing completion and it intends to provide an update to the market before the end of 2024. 

The group, which produces and distributes major coffee brands, including L’or, Jacobs, Douwe Egberts Senseo and Tassimo, achieved sales of €8.2bn ($8.8bn) in 2023. In July 2024, JDE Peet’s raised its full-year revenue and earnings forecasts after posting 5.6% year-on-year sales growth in the six months ending 30 June 2024 to reach €4.2bn ($4.5bn).