Hain Celestial has appointed Alison Lewis as its permanent CEO in a move it will hope brings some stability to the beleaguered business.
Lewis took the role on an interim basis in May after former CEO Wendy Davidson was ousted over the company’s poor performance.
The owner of brands including Ella’s Kitchen and New Covent Garden has seen its share price fall over 80% this year after it suffered annual net losses of $531m and wrote down the value of its assets.
Its stock was up over 4% yesterday after the announcement.
Dawn Zier, Hain Celestial’s chair, said the board was pleased with the “bold moves [Lewis] has already taken to reduce costs, the turnaround agenda she has put in place designed to drive margins and growth, and her focus on progressing the strategic review with Goldman Sachs”.
The US-headquartered group asked Goldman Sachs to launch a “comprehensive review” of strategic options in May after a previous turnaround at the company failed to take hold.
Lewis is a veteran of the consumer packaged goods industry, previously working as chief growth officer at Kimberly-Clark and chief marketing officer at Johnson & Johnson.
“Over the last several months, the company has been intensely focused on our initiatives to stabilise sales, improve profitability, optimise cash, and deleverage our balance sheet,” she said.
“I am proud of the work we are doing and confident in our ability to drive future value for all stakeholders.”
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