US firm IFF has appointed Kevin O’Byrne, the chief financial officer of the UK’s second largest retailer J Sainsbury, to its board of directors.
Effective 10 March, O’Byrne will serve on the IFF board’s audit, innovation, and transaction committees.
O’Byrne, who retiring from J Sainsbury on 4 March 4, 2023, previously served as CEO of Poundland and held various leadership positions at Kingfisher, as well as CEO of B&Q UK & Ireland.
IFF said O’Byrne will bring a deep understanding of the consumer landscape and evolving expectations of CPG customers, which will be valuable to IFF as it continues to execute on its customer-centric and growth-focused strategy.
“I am thrilled to join the IFF Board during such an exciting time for the company,” he said. “IFF continues to lead the industry in delivering innovative solutions that meet the needs of today’s customers, and the company has a clear opportunity to realize its full potential.”
In a related development, Ed Breen and Matthias Heinzel, both of whom have served as directors and members of the IFF board’s Innovation Committee since 2021, have notified IFF of their respective decisions to retire.
Breen and Heinzel will not stand for reelection at IFF’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. In addition, Stephen Williamson, director since 2017 and a member of the Board’s Audit Committee, has notified IFF of his decision to retire from the Board effective March 10.
