Reckitt Benckiser has appointed a company insider as its next permanent CEO, ending an eight-month search after the shock departure last year of one of the FTSE 100’s big-name leaders.
Kris Licht will become chief executive designate from the start of May and will take over from interim CEO Nicandro Durante by the end of the year. Currently working in the US, he will relocate to the UK.
The vacancy at the Slough-based multinational was created in September by the shock departure of Laxman Narasimhan, a former PepsiCo executive, who was poached by Starbucks to run the global coffee chain.
Licht will step up from his current job as president of Reckitt’s health business and has been its chief customer officer since July 2020. He is also a former PepsiCo employee. He said it was an “honour” to take the top job at the maker of Finish dishwasher tablets and Cillit Bang cleaning products, which will pay him £1.1 million a year in salary from when he takes it up at the end of 2023. There will be pension contributions, a bonus plan and share options on top of that.
Licht added: “After significant investment we are well positioned to generate consistent, strong shareholder returns. While there is more work to be done to realise our full potential, I see strong momentum and believe it is truly an exciting time for Reckitt.”
Durante pledged to “work closely” for “a “seamless and uninterrupted transition”. The a former CEO of British American Tobacco, who stepped up from a senior non-executive director role at Reckitt when Narasimhan left, added: “I have gladly committed to Kris and the Board that I will remain in place up to December 2023.”
Reckitt also said today that group like-for-like revenue neared £4 billion in the first quarter, up almost 8%, significantly ahead of forecasts of a 3.6% rise. It predicted growth for the full year in a 3% to 5% range, easing fears that hard-pressed consumers are trading down from big brand names at a time of inflation.
