Firmenich appoints Mieke Van de Capelle as Chief Human Resources (HR) Officer, effective June 1st 2016. Based in Geneva, she will report directly to Firmenich CEO, Gilbert Ghostine as a member of the Executive Committee.
Mieke joins Firmenich from Perfetti Van Melle where she most recently held the position of Chief HR Officer. She succeeds Helen Wyatt, who will be leaving Firmenich at the end of June 2016 to pursue other interests.
Gilbert Ghostine, CEO Firmenich said: “I am very proud to welcome Mieke to Firmenich. She will play a critical role in our future success as she redesigns our leadership development and capability building agenda to best deliver value to our core customers and strategic partners globally. Mieke brings a rare combination of sharp international business acumen; deep understanding of innovation-driven organizations; as well as, a passion for talent development. I would also like to sincerely thank Helen for developing our HR organization over the past 4 years. Throughout her tenure, she most notably acted as a catalyst for Firmenich to reach world-class employee engagement. I extend my deepest appreciation to Helen for her leadership and wish her every success in the future.”
Mieke Van de Capelle said: “I am very excited to be joining Firmenich, as we share a common passion for excellence in talent development and innovation, rooted in a deep sense of social responsibility. I am excited to be part of positively expanding the Group’s reach across both mature and high growth markets; making a difference through talent and expertise.”
Mieke is a seasoned HR Leader with significant consumer goods experience across Europe, the US and Asia, with a particular focus on being a strategic partner for growth. Most recently, she held the position of Chief HR Officer at Perfetti Van Melle, a global confectionary leader, counting 17,000 colleagues worldwide. Prior to this role, she led the EMEA Sales HR organization for Electrolux Corporation where she supported the design and set-up of a new operating model in Europe. Mieke also spent 11 years with Sara Lee Corporation, where she took on roles of increasing responsibility, culminating with the role of Vice President Human Resources based in the United States.
Mieke is a Belgian national and holds a Master’s Degree in International Communication Strategy from the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France as well as a Master’s Degree in Philology from Ghent University, Belgium. She is married with 2 children.
Source: Firmenich
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