PARIS — Gilbert Ghostine has been named chief executive officer of Firmenich, effective Oct. 1.
Ghostine joins the Swiss fragrance supplier from drinks firm Diageo, where he was most recently president of Asia-Pacific, and succeeds Patrick Firmenich, who stepped down and will transition into the role of vice chairman of the board.
Firmenich helmed the privately held company for 12 years, and initially joined the group in 1990. He is to assist Ghostine through the end of January 2015 as part of the management transition.
Yves Boisdron, chairman of the board, lauded Ghostine’s “significant international and high-growth market experience,” having worked in the U.S., Europe, Africa and the Middle East prior to his most recent role in Asia.