Danone's activist investors fired its CEO for caring more about the planet than profits

Emmanuel Faber became CEO of Danone in 2014 and chairman in 2017. He steered the French food giant — maker of Activia yoghurt, Evian water, and Aptamil baby formula — toward a mission-driven model. Under his leadership, Danone became the first listed company to adopt 'société à mission' status under France's 2019 PACTE law, and in 2020 it was certified as a B Corporation. Faber's 'One Planet. One Health' strategy framed the company's purpose as improving the food system, not just selling products.

The sustainability pivot won plaudits from activists and academics, but some large shareholders saw it as a distraction from profitability. By late 2020, Danone's stock had underperformed its peers for years, and activist investors — first the small London fund Bluebell Capital, then the $60 billion US firm Artisan Partners — began calling for Faber's head. They argued that his dual role as chairman and CEO was a governance problem and that ESG commitments had been prioritised over returns.

On March 1, 2021, Danone's board decided to split the CEO and chairman roles, with Faber to stay as chairman. Two weeks later, it removed him entirely. The entire board resigned on July 29, 2021, after Faber argued in the press that the board had lost all credibility with shareholders. Interim chairman Gilles Schnepp led the search for a new CEO. The company later abandoned its revenue growth target and reorganized into a regional structure, effectively reversing Faber's strategic direction.

Faber's ouster became a symbol of the tension between purpose-driven capitalism and shareholder primacy. A year before his departure, shareholders had voted 99% in favour of the B Corp certification and climate plan. Faber told TIME that what happened was 'a few people that saw a window of opportunity.' The case is taught in business schools as a cautionary tale about governance, stakeholder theory, and the limits of CEO activism.