H&H Group appoints former Coty, Reckitt Benckiser exec as CEO as Swisse hits $1bn milestone
Camillo Pane (53), a former CEO at Coty and SVP of Global Category Officer Consumer Health at Reckitt Benckiser, will be joining the Hong Kong headquartered firm as its CEO for a term commencing from September 1, 2023, to August 31, 2026, with a basic salary of 1.008m euros (US$1.07m) per annum.
He will take over Laetitia Albertini, who had quit in December 2022 due to personal reasons but remained and was re-elected as a non-executive director during May’s annual general meeting.
Akash Bedi, chief strategy and operations officer, is the interim CEO during the transition period.
“We are delighted to welcome Mr. Pane to H&H to lead the Group into our next exciting phase of expansion. His strategic guidance will be invaluable as we navigate the global landscape and pursue further growth.
“With his outstanding leadership capabilities and deep industry knowledge, I am confident that he will lead us to greater accomplishments, reinforcing our dedication to consumer satisfaction and fostering a culture of innovation,” said H&H Group chairman Fei Luo.
"I'm very proud to be joining the H&H team and leading the Group into its next phase of growth, driving forward our innovative and iconic brands and showcasing our impressive product portfolio,” said Pane on the appointment.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Pane is currently a non-executive director at Passione Beauty and self-employed as a senior advisor to private equity funds, including Blackstone, Advent International, Apollo, and Permira, where he worked as the lead advisor on projects in the wellness and beauty space.
He was also the co-founder and executive chairman of Present Life Ltd – an incubator for wellness and beauty brands Healist Naturals, One Ocean Beauty, and Loum Beauty which were subsequently sold in 2021 and 2022.
Prior to that, the native Italian was the CEO and member of the board of Coty for 2.5 years from July 2016 to January 2019. While at Coty, he led the merger of Coty with P&G Specialty Beauty by setting up and implementing a new divisional organizational structure, a new vision, purpose and culture.
He built most of his career at Reckitt Benckiser where he spent over 19 years at the firm, starting as a brand manager with his last position as the SVP Global Category Officer Consumer Health which he left in July 2015.
The Consumer Health business included OTC brands Nurofen, Mucinex, Gaviscon, Strepsils, and supplement brands Move Free, Megared and Airborne.
An alumni of Milan’s University of Bocconi’s business administration faculty, Pane started his career working for Kraft Jacobs Suchard in Italy in 1994.
One billion sales achieved
On the other hand, Swisse has hit the milestone of AUD$1bn (US$651.62m) in global sales, H&H Group announced on May 26.
The brand, which is sold in over 16 markets, had seen its sales tripled since it was acquired by H&H in 2015.
“Since its acquisition in 2015, Swisse has been well integrated into the Group and has seen its sales increase by over three times, also collaborating with the Group’s other segments, Baby Nutrition and Care and Pet Nutrition and Care, to leverage Swisse’s successful product and innovation strategies.
“By utilising H&H’s research and development centres and key partnerships, Swisse is now recognised for its natural ingredients that have been backed by science, which has led to the brand securing no.1 positions and huge success in both our stronghold – mainland China and Australia – and new markets,” said Bedi.
In mainland China, the company said active sales of Swisse was up 96.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis in Q1 this year.
The brand’s most popular products include Swisse Liver Detox, while new products such as NAD+, cholesterol protection, Swisse K2 Calcium + Vitamin D3 were launched.
“Swisse continued to perform very well in mainland China, maintaining its No.1 position in the online vitamin, herbal and mineral supplements (VHMS) market.
“This was bolstered by effective marketing and launching into more innovative categories such as the new Swisse K2 Calcium+ Vitamin D3 as well as continued growth from the new Swisse Plus range, along with leveraging increased consumer demand for beauty, multivitamin and immune support products,” said Bedi in the firm’s Q1 financial results.
Gummies is another key innovation coming from the firm’s nutraceutical portfolio, and a product development kitchen was just opened in Melbourne May to facilitate innovation across new functional food formats, ingredients, packaging, and sensorial experience.
