Change at the top of the board at Germany's Henkel. Last week Henkel announced that Pernille Lind Olsen, who has been with the commercial and industrial chemicals manufacturer since 2022, will take over as president of the company in North America.
As 'Cosmetics Business' points out, Lind Olsen will succeed Steven Essick, who has been the owner of Schwarzkopf for more than 25 years.
After taking on this new role, the company has clarified that Lind Olsen will also continue to serve as Corporate Senior Vice President and Regional Director of the German consumer goods company's adhesives division. Pernille Lind Olsen, who is looking forward to this new challenge, has declared that she is grateful and eager to take on this new stage in the company and to offer all her knowledge in North America. Lind Olsen has stressed that the value and performance of teamwork will be crucial to grow the company.
Henkel upgrades 2023 outlook following strong first half-year results
This month, the company published its balance sheet for the first half of the year, in which it recorded a notable improvement in sales and profits. The group's sales grew by 4.9%, translated into euros, a total of 10.9 billion euros. Profits increased to 1.254 billion euros, 7.6% more than in the same period of the previous year. The German company was particularly keen to highlight these results in an uncertain economic climate.
This perhaps unexpected growth for Henkel has forced the company to correct forecasts and raise the outlook for the 2023 financial year. The German company has rectified its forecast and now expects to post organic sales growth of between 2.5 and 4.5 per cent.
Henkel attributes this growth to some actions that have been carried out and that were marked as a priority in the company's roadmap. One of these was the merger of Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care. Thanks to this operation, Henkel has increased its savings fund and expects to save a total of 400 million euros by the end of 2026. The integration of Shiseido's Hair Professional business in Asia-Pacific is another of the actions that the German chemical company wants to highlight as it has achieved these good results.