Kevin O’Byrne Appointed to IFF Board of Directors, Three Members Retire

Kevin O’Byrne, chief financial officer and director of J Sainsbury Plc, has been appointed to join the International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. (IFF) Board, effective March 10. 

 

O’Byrne is an established financial executive with decades of experience driving sustainable growth and overseeing transformation strategies for international consumer retail businesses. He brings to IFF 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, according to the company. 

 

O’Byrne will serve on the board’s audit, innovation and transaction committees.

 

“As we continue to evolve our Board of Directors, I am thrilled to welcome Kevin as an incoming director,” said Roger Ferguson, incoming chair of the IFF board. “Kevin brings more than 30 years of retail and consumer goods experience to the IFF Board and a proven track record overseeing numerous multinational finance initiatives and successful business integrations. I am confident that his expertise and international perspective will be critical as we capture new growth opportunities, execute on our productivity initiatives and optimize our portfolio.”

 

O’Byrne is responsible for the finance, strategy, property, procurement and investor relations functions at J Sainsbury Plc, the second largest retailer in the United Kingdom. He will be retiring from Sainsbury's on March 4. Prior to joining J Sainsbury Plc, he served as chief executive officer of Poundland Group Plc and held various leadership positions at Kingfisher Plc, including Divisional Director UK, China and Turkey, as well as Chief Executive Officer of B&Q UK & Ireland and group finance director.

 

O’Byrne sits on the Board of Centrica Plc, the leading energy supply and in-home servicing provider in the UK and Ireland. He has chaired the Audit and Risk Committee since May 2019 and is the Senior Independent Director (SID). O’Byrne sat on the board of Land Securities Group Plc, the UK’s largest listed real estate group, for nine years where he chaired the Audit Committee and was SID.

 

“I am thrilled to join the IFF Board during such an exciting time for the company,” said Kevin O’Byrne, Incoming IFF Director. “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. I look forward to partnering with Roger and the rest of the Board to help IFF become an even stronger industry leader, while driving sustainable, profitable growth.”

Edward (Ed) Breen and Matthias Heinzel, both of whom have served as directors and members of the board’s innovation committee since 2021, have notified IFF of their respective decisions to retire from the board. 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.

 

“On behalf of the entire board, I would like to thank Ed, Stephen and Matthias for their many contributions to IFF,” said Dale Morrison, chair of the IFF board. “As directors, each has helped oversee the development of IFF’s refreshed growth strategy as we’ve become an even stronger partner for customers across the global value chain for consumer goods and commercial products. It has been an honor to work alongside these three leaders and I wish them all the best in their next chapters.”

 

“It has been a privilege to serve on the IFF board as the company has established itself as the industry’s premier partner through the transformative combination of DuPont’s Nutrition and Biosciences business,” said Ed Breen, director of the board. “Both the IFF Board and leadership team have taken strong action to position the company for long-term profitable growth and significant value creation, and I look forward to seeing all that IFF will accomplish in the future.”