Lesaffre, a key global player in fermentation, announces the appointment of Brice-Audren Riché as the Group’s new Chief Executive Officer on 1st of January 2022. He will succeed Antoine Baule, who has reached the end of his mandate.
Currently General Manager of Biospringer, Lesaffre’s business unit specializing in yeast extracts, Brice-Audren Riché will continue Lesaffre’s development in the fields of baking and nutrition and health, with the support of all the group’s teams throughout the world. He will bring his strategic and operational expertise as well as his management experience acquired during a successful career in France and abroad.
“Antoine Baule has enabled us to accelerate the transformation of Lesaffre as a key player in the fermentation industry and we thank him for the commitment he has shown for over 9 years. After examining Lesaffre’s major challenges for the coming years, the Board of Directors felt that Brice-Audren Riché has, in addition to his exemplary professional background, all the skills and personal qualities to pursue our development strategy. I am convinced that he will lead the Group towards new successes with the full support of Lesaffre’s 10,700 employees”, says Thibaut de Ladoucette, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
“I have had the privilege of being Lesaffre’s Chief Executive Officer for 9 very intense years and I leave with the satisfaction of having contributed to the Group’s development on a path of growth and profitability, thanks in particular to the commitment and dynamism of all our teams throughout the world. Over the last few months, Brice-Audren Riché has led the steering of the 2022-2024 strategy with rigor and determination. This period has enabled us to exchange ideas in complete confidence and to share the information necessary to pursue Lesaffre’s ambitions. I am convinced that Brice-Audren has all the necessary qualities to guarantee the implementation of our commitments“, adds Antoine Baule, current Chief Executive Officer.
“I am delighted to succeed Antoine Baule and honored by the confidence placed in me by Lesaffre’s Board of Directors to continue to drive the company’s growth. Lesaffre has been driven for over 160 years by its ambition to create innovative and environmentally-friendly solutions based on micro-organisms and the power of fermentation. Those solutions meet the needs of nutrition, health and naturalness, which are more than ever at the heart of society’s challenges. I am determined to be part of this dynamic with the Group’s employees and at the service of our customers” continues Brice-Audren Riché, future Chief Executive Officer.
A graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique, Brice-Audren Riché began his career with Ernst & Young in 1997. In 2001 he joined Lafarge and held various finance positions in Europe, Asia based in Kuala Lumpur, Latin America based in Santiago, as well as operational positions as Deputy Managing Director Algeria and then Managing Director Indian Ocean and Turkey. Brice-Audren Riché joined Lesaffre in 2017 as Global General Manager of Biospringer. He also oversees Procelys, Ennolys and LIS since 2018. As of July 1, 2021, he has been appointed Deputy Managing Director of Lesaffre.