How much did Emmanuel Faber earn at the helm of Danone? The question comes up often, because the former head of the food group set himself apart from his CAC 40 peers through several public renunciations: no top-up pension, no severance package, and a voluntary cut in his fixed salary during the Covid-19 crisis. This page gathers the available figures, always with their year and source, places his pay in the context of his career, and explains what a shareholder can take away from it in 2026.
Who is Emmanuel Faber?
The Emmanuel Faber biography reads like a classic path through the French business elite: born on January 22, 1964, in Grenoble, a graduate of HEC Paris (1986), he started out at Bain & Company, passed through Barings bank, then joined Legris Industries in 1993 as chief financial and administrative officer, becoming its chief executive in 1996.
He joined Danone in 1997 as director of finance, strategy and information systems, became chief financial officer and a member of the executive committee in 2000, then vice-president of the Asia-Pacific zone in 2005. From 2008 to September 2014, he served as deputy chief executive, before succeeding Franck Riboud as chief executive officer in October 2014. In 2017, he combined both roles and became chairman and chief executive officer. He left the group in March 2021.
His career is inseparable from the social economy: he launched the Grameen Danone Foods joint venture in Bangladesh with Muhammad Yunus (2006), oversaw the creation of the Danone Communities SICAV fund, and in 2020 championed Danone’s adoption of the entreprise à mission (purpose-driven company) status, approved by more than 99% of shareholders.
Emmanuel Faber’s pay at Danone: the figures year by year
The amounts below come from information published at Danone’s general meetings and reported by the business press and by Wikipedia. For the official detail (fixed pay, annual variable pay, performance shares), the reference remains Danone’s universal registration document for the year concerned.
| Fiscal year | Position | Reported pay | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Chief executive officer | €4.82 million (about 170 times the average pay of the group’s employees) | Business press, as reported by Wikipedia |
| 2018 | Chairman and CEO | €2.8 million, approved by 98% at the general meeting of April 25, 2019 | Danone 2019 general meeting |
| 2020 | Chairman and CEO | Fixed pay cut by 30% for the rest of the year, at his own request | Board of directors decision, May 2020 |
Two observations are in order. First, the amounts are not directly comparable from one year to the next: the variable component and the valuation of performance shares depend on results and on the share price. Second, the drop between 2016 and 2018 does not reflect a cut in base salary, but mainly a change in the variable and long-term components.
The renunciations that made headlines
Top-up pension and severance package (2019)
At the general meeting of April 25, 2019, Emmanuel Faber announced that he was giving up his severance package and his supplementary defined-benefit pension, known in France as a “retraite chapeau”, estimated at €1.2 million a year. He said he wanted to receive only the standard pension of the group’s employees. The move stood in sharp contrast to the controversies that had surrounded other CAC 40 executives at the time.
A 30% cut in fixed pay during the health crisis (2020)
In May 2020, the board of directors accepted his proposal to cut his fixed pay by 30% for the rest of the year, in solidarity with employees and in a context where Danone was suffering the impact of lockdowns, particularly on its mineral waters sold away from home.
The March 2021 exit: when the market catches up with the mission
In late 2020, activist fund Bluebell Capital bought into the share capital and criticised the group’s “disappointing” share price performance. In February 2021, Artisan Partners, then the third-largest shareholder with about 3% of the capital, in turn called for the CEO’s departure. The figures fuelled the debate: between December 1, 2017 and December 31, 2020, Danone’s share price fell by nearly 23%, while the CAC 40 gained 4.5% over the same period. Conversely, his defenders pointed out that the stock had reached an all-time high in September 2019, up 58% since his appointment as chief executive in 2014.
On March 1, 2021, the board decided to split the roles of chairman and chief executive. On March 14, 2021, it terminated Emmanuel Faber’s duties with immediate effect. Gilles Schnepp, former CEO of Legrand, took over as chairman; Antoine de Saint-Affrique became chief executive in September 2021, writing a new chapter in Danone CEO history. Having given up his severance package two years earlier, Emmanuel Faber received no “golden parachute” when he left.
The case has become an example studied in business schools: it shows that a leader can be praised for his social and environmental vision while being punished by shareholders who judge value creation insufficient compared with competitors such as Nestlé or Unilever. To compare trajectories, you can consult our pages on the Danone share and the Nestlé share.
After Danone: venture capital and non-financial standards
In October 2021, Emmanuel Faber became a partner for Europe at Astanor Ventures, a venture capital fund specialising in agriculture and food. In December 2021, he was appointed chair of the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board), the body created by the IFRS Foundation to define global sustainability disclosure standards. In June 2023, the ISSB published its first two standards, IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 (climate), which now serve as a reference for many jurisdictions.
For investors, this is no detail: these standards determine the quality of the ESG data published by listed companies, and therefore the ability to compare companies on non-financial criteria.
The Faber case offers a useful framework, applicable to any CAC 40 company:
- Distinguish fixed, variable and long-term pay. The fixed part says little; it is the criteria behind the variable component (growth, margin, cash flow, ESG criteria) that reveal the board’s priorities.
- Look at the equity ratio. Since France’s 2019 Pacte law, listed companies publish the ratio between the executive’s pay and the average and median pay of employees.
- Follow the votes at general meetings. A “say on pay” vote below 80% is a signal of defiance to be taken seriously. In 2019, Emmanuel Faber’s pay had been approved by 98%, which did not prevent his exit two years later: consensus on salary does not guarantee consensus on strategy.
- Watch out for deferred commitments. Top-up pensions, severance packages and non-compete clauses can weigh more heavily than the annual salary.
To follow these topics closely and vote at general meetings, you need to hold the shares directly. The PEA remains the most suitable tax wrapper for European shares such as Danone; online brokers offering CFDs, such as the one presented in our Vantage review, allow you to take a position on the price with reduced fees, but without owning the shares, without voting rights and with a high risk linked to leverage. This article is informative and does not constitute investment advice.
Read also: Gerard Mestrallet and Jean Francois Palus compensation
FAQ
What was Emmanuel Faber’s salary at Danone?
His reported total pay was €4.82 million for 2016 and €2.8 million for 2018 (an amount approved by 98% at the April 2019 general meeting). These amounts include fixed pay, variable pay and long-term components.
Did Emmanuel Faber receive a severance package?
No. He gave up in April 2019 his severance package and his top-up pension, estimated at €1.2 million a year.
Why was Emmanuel Faber removed from Danone?
Under pressure from activist funds (Bluebell Capital, Artisan Partners) which judged the share price performance insufficient, the board of directors decided on his departure on March 14, 2021.
What is Emmanuel Faber doing now?
Emmanuel Faber now chairs the ISSB, a position he took up in December 2021, after joining the Astanor Ventures fund in October 2021.
This article is educational in nature and does not constitute investment advice.