Nutrition, health and beauty firm dsm-firmenich has hired PepsiCo veteran Katharina Stenholm (pictured, top of page) as chief sustainability officer. Stenholm will move into the post on July 1, 2023.
Here are three things to know about the announcement:
1. dsm-firmenich's Business Focus and Scale: The chemical manufacturing firm, based in Heerlen, Limburg, Netherlands, had nearly 30,000 employees as of May 2023. DSM has operations in almost 60 countries and revenues of more than €12 billion (US$12.9 billion). Under Stenholm's guidance, the company will "begin revising ambitious and measurable targets and plans to rapidly achieve them in order to bring its purpose to life." Specific KPIs (key performance indicators), goals and delivery dates were not mentioned in the announcement.
2. Katharina Stenholm's Expertise: Stenholm's background includes general management, procurement, sustainability, and commerce. She previously led PepsiCo's European Sustainability function. Earlier, she held various positions at Danone, including SVP Strategic Projects, Managing Director of DanTrade, and Global CPO, with Sustainability under her responsibility. She also held various positions at SABMiller, culminating in the role of global CPO, and was CEO for a food ingredients company in the Nordics with global sales.
3. Executive Perspectives: In a prepared statement about Stenholm joining dsm-firmenich, Co-CEOs Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze said: “We are excited to welcome Katharina as our new Chief Sustainability Officer. She is widely recognized as an exceptional leader and innovator in the field of ESG and her extensive experience and expertise will be invaluable in helping us achieve our purpose. With her guidance and leadership, we are confident that we will create positive impact for people and planet, while building sustainable business growth.”
4. Bonus - Why Technology Partners Should Care: By 2027, 25% of Global 2000 companies will have assigned a chief sustainability officer (CSO) responsible for meeting their organization’s ESG goals and making ESG-related IT purchasing decisions, according to IDC. Technology partners need to extend their sales, marketing, engagement and support strategies to successfully fulfill those CSO needs, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.
