The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) announces that Peter Freedman will step down as Managing Director (MD) after leading the organisation for more than six years. His successor will be Dr Wai-Chan Chan, currently senior partner and co-leader of the retail and consumer goods practice at Oliver Wyman. At the end of a planned induction process, Mr Freedman will hand over his responsibilities as MD on 1st June 2020.
Peter Freedman joined the CGF as MD in January 2014. Ozgur Tort and Emmanuel Faber, Co-Chairs of the CGF Board of Directors, said, “The Board is deeply grateful to Peter for his leadership over the past years. During his tenure, the CGF has grown into a unique force in the industry, enabling CEO-led collaboration between the world’s manufacturers and retailers to drive positive change. He has also built a great team of CGF staff, while delivering continued membership growth and a sound financial position. He leaves an organisation that is well positioned to support the industry through the many challenges and opportunities ahead, including the implications of the current pandemic.”
Peter Freedman commented, “Leading the CGF has to be one of the best jobs in the world. It has been a privilege to work with so many industry chief executives who passionately believe that consumer businesses must be a force for good and are prepared to commit enormous amounts of time and leadership energy to driving positive change together. I would like to thank the many executives in our member companies around the world, who by participating in our working groups and networking events make the power of collaboration a reality. Lastly, I would like to thank the CGF Management Committee and all members of the staff for giving so much of themselves to the CGF and for being such fun to work with.”
Wai-Chan Chan brings to the role more than 25 years of retail and CPG experience globally, with a particular focus on Asia and Greater China. At Oliver Wyman, he has served clients in the grocery, health and beauty, speciality retail and property industries, on a broad range of strategic, operational and organisational issues. Prior to joining Oliver Wyman, Dr Chan has been a partner at McKinsey & Company, a director at OC&C Strategy Consultants and the North Asia Regional Director for the retailer Dairy Farm where he ran the Wellcome, 7-Eleven and Mannings banners. He has also served as a non-executive director, most recently on the board of Bellamy’s Organic, a leading infant nutrition supplier based in Australia.
Ozgur Tort and Emmanuel Faber commented, “Wai-Chan Chan’s experience, character and leadership skills qualify him very well to lead the CGF into its next phase of development. With the establishment of our new Coalitions of Action governance model, the CGF is now even better placed to help the industry drive greater collective impact across our agenda of positive change. Its ability to convene industry CEOs and senior executives also makes it a uniquely valuable forum to share best practices, as we are discovering right now, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Post crisis, all the signs are that the CGF’s agenda will play an even more central part in securing consumer trust in the industry.”
Wai-Chan Chan said, “Having been involved with the CGF over the past few years, I have been able to see first-hand the power and potential of this organisation to bring the industry together and to be a force for good, in Asia as well as elsewhere in the world. Much progress has been made, but there is still a great deal to be achieved and I am excited by the prospect of stewarding the organisation to the next level of stakeholder impact and to weather the challenges being posed over the next couple of years.”
