PARIS — Gilbert Ghostine, chief executive officer of Firmenich, will join the board of directors at Danone SA on Oct. 15, while Lise Kingo, former CEO and executive director of the United Nations Global Compact, will join the board Dec. 1.

Both will be independent members. They will replace Guido Barilla, who will step down, and Cécile Cabanis, who left the board June 30.

Ghostine joined Firmenich, a Swiss fragrance and taste company, in 2014 and has led the company’s rise into natural, biotech and life science categories. Firmenich has made 14 acquisitions under Ghostine’s leadership. He was appointed to the board of directors at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in July of this year.

He received a master’s degree in business administration from St. Joseph University in Lebanon.

Kingo is an independent board member of Sanofi, a global health care company, and Covestro, a producer of polyurethane- and polycarbonate-based raw materials, and a non-executive board member for Aker Horizons, an investment company. She was CEO and executive director of the United Nations Global Compact, a corporate sustainability initiative, from 2015 to 2020. Kingo, from 2002 to 2014, was executive vice president, member of the executive management team, in Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company, with global responsibility for compliance, human resources, communications and sustainability.

She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, a bachelor’s degree in marketing and economics from the Copenhagen Business School and a master’s degree in responsibility and business from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom.

“First, I would like, on behalf of the entire board, to warmly thank Guido Barilla for his active and constant involvement in the board’s work since 2018,” said Gilles Schnepp, chairman of the board at Paris-based Danone. “His undisputed business acumen and experience in the consumer goods sector, as well as his remarkable integrity and wisdom, have been an undeniable added value to Danone.

“The addition of Gilbert Ghostine and Lise Kingo marks another milestone in the renewal of Danone’s board of directors. With their experience in senior leadership roles and expertise in consumer goods, health, nutrition and sustainability, they will support us in the implementation of the renew Danone strategy.”

Danone announced plans to overhaul its board of directors in July 2021.