ATLANTA — Marianne Kirkegaard has been promoted to president and chief executive officer of CSM Bakery Solutions. Ms. Kirkegaard succeeds Robert A. Sharpe, who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.
Ms. Kirkegaard previously was senior vice-president of markets and chief commercial officer at CSM. She joined CSM in 2011 and has held various senior marketing, sales and commercial roles, including senior vice-president, products and marketing. Additionally, she has spearheaded the globalization and digitization of the company’s sales and marketing capabilities and led the development of new category and channel strategies as well as the optimization of the company’s product portfolio.
Ms. Kirkegaard joined CSM from Unilever, where she spent 20 years in various commercial general management roles of increasing seniority. She also held executive positions at Carlsberg Group and the Coca-Cola Co.
“Marianne Kirkegaard is an extremely effective leader and builder of businesses,” said James Singh, chairman of the CSM board of directors. “In her five years with CSM, she has played a key role in articulating our value proposition, creating our marketing, sales and business development capabilities, and building strong customer and industry relationships. She is the right person to lead CSM forward.”
Ms. Kirkegaard is a member of the board of directors of AAK and Dansk Supermarked Group.
She received an executive master’s degree in business administration from the Scandinavian International Management Institute and a master’s degree from the Aarhus School of Business.
CSM Bakery Solutions provides bakery ingredients, products and services for retail and food service markets as well as artisan and industrial bakeries. The company has more than 8,500 employees and serves customers in 100-plus countries, providing specialized ingredients and finished products. CSM’s bakery brands include BakeMark, Brill, Meister Marken, Multifoods, Waldkorn and Westco.
