IFF (IFF) Appoints J. Erik Fyrwald as CEO, Reaffirms FY23 Guidance

IFF (NYSE: IFF) today announced the appointment of J. Erik Fyrwald to succeed Frank Clyburn as Chief Executive Officer and member of the IFF Board of Directors, effective Feb. 6, 2024. Clyburn will work closely with Fyrwald to ensure a seamless transition, remaining with IFF until March 31, 2024, and further serving in an advisory capacity through December 2024.

Fyrwald brings to IFF more than four decades of executive and operational experience driving innovation and profitable, sustainable growth at leading corporations in the nutrition, agriculture and chemicals industries. He most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Syngenta, where he spearheaded the strategy that ultimately doubled the business and delivered exceptional shareholder value during his tenure. Prior to Syngenta, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Univar Solutions and Nalco, in addition to holding numerous global and regional executive leadership roles with DuPont, including in the company’s Agriculture and Nutrition business.

“We are delighted to welcome Erik to IFF’s Board and leadership team,” said Board Chair Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. “Erik’s exceptional track record, passion for successful execution, customer-centric mindset and highly complementary industry experience will be invaluable as we capitalize on the significant value creation opportunities ahead of us. The Board is confident that Erik is the right executive to shepherd IFF through its next chapter as we execute on our strategic plan with a focus on driving long-term, profitable growth.”

Ferguson continued, “On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Frank for his leadership and contributions to IFF. During his tenure, Frank played an instrumental role in strengthening our commercial execution and Research & Development initiatives, executing our portfolio optimization efforts and guiding IFF through the initial stages of our refreshed strategic plan. We wish him all the best as he leaves IFF to pursue outside interests.”

“I am thrilled to be joining the IFF team,” said Fyrwald. “I have been an admirer of IFF for many years, including when I was leading DuPont’s Agriculture and Nutrition business, and I’m excited to help advance its purpose of applying science and creativity for a better world. With its strong foundation, leading position across attractive categories and expansive global network, IFF remains at the forefront of bringing leading sustainable ingredient solutions to customers and communities globally. With strong progress made against IFF’s strategic priorities, I look forward to doubling down on execution to accelerate financial performance by building on the company’s innovation, commercial and productivity efforts, and continuing to strengthen its capital structure through portfolio optimization to drive value creation for all IFF stakeholders.”

Reaffirming Full Year 2023 Guidance and Strategic Plan
The Company expects its full year 2023 sales to be in line with its previously stated guidance range of $11.3 billion to $11.6 billion. It also continues to expect full year 2023 adjusted operating EBITDA to be at the mid to high end of its previously stated guidance range of $1.85 billion to $2.0 billion.

IFF continues to execute its portfolio optimization initiatives, most recently through the announced sale of its Cosmetic Ingredients business unit for $810 million, which the Company continues to believe will close in the first quarter of 2024. The Company continues to progress additional divesture actions to strengthen its overall capital structure.

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