MARCQ-EN-BAROEUL, FRANCE — Brice-Audren Riché has been named chief executive officer of Lesaffre, effective Jan. 1, 2022. He will succeed Antoine Baule, who has reached the end of his mandate.

Mr. Riché is currently general manager of Biospringer, Lesaffre’s business unit specializing in yeast extracts. Prior to joining Lesaffre in 2017, he was with Lafarge for many years, holding various finance positions in Europe, Asia and Latin America, as well as operational positions as deputy managing director for Algeria and managing director for Indian Ocean and Turkey. He began his career with Ernst & Young.

He is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique.

“I have had the privilege of being Lesaffre’s chief executive officer for nine 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,” Mr. Baule said. “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.”

Thibaut de Ladoucette, chairman of the board, thanked Mr. Baule for his years of service.

“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 nine years,” Mr. de Ladoucette said. “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 toward new successes with the full support of Lesaffre’s 10,700 employees.”