Barry Callebaut AG today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Hein Schumacher as new CEO, effective January 26, 2026, succeeding Peter Feld. With the upcoming completion of the BC Next Level transformation program, Peter Feld will leave Barry Callebaut to pursue other career opportunities. Peter will remain available to Barry Callebaut during the transition to Hein, with a focus on transferring his knowledge of the BC Next Level transformation program.

Patrick De Maeseneire, Chairman of Barry Callebaut Group, commented, “The Board is delighted to welcome Hein Schumacher as Barry Callebaut’s next CEO after an extensive global search process and to embark on a new chapter of growth, value creation and industry leadership. Hein is a seasoned and decisive leader with a unique blend of expertise in Food, B2C/B2B and ingredients, as well as a proven track record in creating significant shareholder value from two CEO positions with Unilever and Royal FrieslandCampina. He is the right leader at this stage to chart Barry Callebaut’s next phase of increased customer focus, winning culture and financial strength, based on our fully integrated cocoa and chocolate business model.”

Patrick De Maeseneire continued, “Peter Feld joined Barry Callebaut as CEO in April 2023 with the mandate to transform our company into a simpler, leaner and more agile organization. Next to championing our transformation program, BC Next Level, Peter has navigated our company through the perfect storm, with unprecedented cocoa bean prices, market turbulence and a challenging geopolitical situation. With the upcoming completion of BC Next Level, the Board and Peter decided that now is the right time for a CEO transition. On behalf of the entire Board, we thank Peter for his immense work and leadership and wish him all the best for the future.”

Hein Schumacher (born 1971, Dutch national) brings to Barry Callebaut over 25 years of experience in the food sector. From 2023-2025, he served as CEO of Unilever, where he implemented a comprehensive growth plan that allowed the company to sharpen its focus on core brands with higher added value and achieve significant shareholder value growth. Prior to Unilever, Hein Schumacher held key leadership positions at Royal FrieslandCampina, one of the world’s largest dairy cooperatives with 50% of their revenues in B2B, where he served as both CEO (2017-2023) and CFO (2015-2017). In his role as CEO, he led Royal FrieslandCampina during times of very volatile commodity prices as well as through COVID and strengthened the company through a major restructuring initiative which resulted in a more focused business and a significant revenue increase. From 2003-2014, Hein Schumacher was with HJ Heinz (now Kraft Heinz) in progressively more senior roles, including President & CEO HJ Heinz Asia Pacific (2013-2015) and Executive Vice President HJ Heinz China (2010-2013), based in Asia Pacific. He began his professional career as a Finance Manager with Unilever in 1996. (see also separate biography)

Hein Schumacher said, “I am honored to serve as CEO of Barry Callebaut. Following a period of unprecedented market turbulence, Barry Callebaut is at an exciting juncture. While the business continues to navigate market and volume pressures, we have a clear opportunity to return to growth, to strengthen our culture and to deliver a step-up in our business performance. I look forward to working with the Barry Callebaut team to delight our customers, strengthen the balance sheet and deliver sustainable long-term value for all our stakeholders.”

Peter Feld said, “Over the last nearly three years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the most talented people in the industry and to build the foundation for future growth. As the Board and I discussed, with most initiatives of BC Next Level already implemented, it is a good time to pass the baton to Hein. I do this with pride and gratitude to all who contributed. Barry Callebaut’s future is in good hands with Hein, and I wish Hein all the best in his new role.”