- After 10 years in the position
- Accolades, praise and thanks for Mininberg
- Noel Geoffroy taking over
- Mininberg made a lengthy statement and said 289 words
(exechange) — El Paso, Texas, April 26, 2023 — Julien Mininberg, chief executive of Helen of Troy, is set to leave his position. His upcoming departure is made public at an early stage. As announced by Helen of Troy Ltd. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, Julien R. Mininberg leaves his post as chief executive officer at the designer of home and wellness products, after 10 years in the role, effective February 29, 2024.
The average tenure of CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months was 7.8 years. This is according to data collected by CEO-exit research firm exechange.
exechange tracks CEO departures at the 3,000 largest publicly traded companies in the U.S., examines the reasons CEOs leave and determines the Push‑out Score™, a measure of pressure on departing chief executives on a scale of 0 to 10.
Long goodbye
It is a long goodbye. The announcement of Julien Mininberg’s move comes up to 10 months prior to his planned departure from the post of CEO.
In general, a top executive who announces the departure particularly early may be considered a lame duck.
Julien Mininberg’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Noel Geoffroy, currently Chief Operating Officer at Helen of Troy Ltd.
“To slow down a bit”
Mininberg stated: “When I retire next February, it will be my turn to slow down a bit, spend more time with my family, and focus on personal priorities after what will be 10 years as Helen of Troy’s CEO and 34 years in the consumer products industry.”
The top three reasons cited in corporate announcements for CEO departures over the past 12 months are performance issues (27.4% of cases), implementation of a planned succession (16.2%) and the statement that the time was right for a change (9.9%), according to exechange data. Other motives given for leadership changes included the outgoing CEO’s wish to pursue other opportunities (6.4% of cases), personal reasons (3.8%) and conduct issues (2.2%). Rather rarely stated reasons are health problems (1.6% of cases), disagreement (1.3%), death (1.3%), the desire for more time with family (1%) and career change (0.6%). Sometimes, more than one reason was given. In 28.3% of cases, no reason was given.
Precise information regarding Julien Mininberg’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Retire”
Helen of Troy said: “Julien R. Mininberg, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), intends to retire on February 29, 2024 when his employment agreement expires.”
Helen of Troy further said: “On April 25, 2023, Julien R. Mininberg, Chief Executive Officer of Helen of Troy Limited (the “Company”), informed the Company of his intention to retire as Chief Executive Officer of the Company on February 29, 2024, upon the expiration of the term of Mr. Mininberg’s employment agreement with the Company.”
Generally, retirements are seen as formally voluntary departures. Still, CEOs may also be pressured to accelerate their retirement plans. In fact, in 37% of the cases where the term “retirement” was used in CEO departure announcements over the past 12 months, the departing chief executives received Push-out Scores above the critical threshold of 5, indicating elevated pressure.
Share price decline since April 2021
The announcement follows a decline in Helen of Troy Ltd.’s share price of 61% since April 2021.
In the position of CEO since 2014
Julien Mininberg became CEO of the Company in 2014.
Prior to his appointment as CEO, Mininberg had served as the CEO of Kaz Inc. (“Kaz”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company since December 2010.
Kaz comprises the Health & Wellness segment of the Company.
Mininberg joined Kaz in 2006, serving as Chief Marketing Officer and was appointed President in September 2007, where he served until he was appointed the CEO in September 2010.
Before joining Kaz, Mininberg worked for 15 years at The Procter & Gamble Company (“P&G”), where he spent an equal amount of time in the U.S. and Latin America, serving in a variety of marketing and general management capacities.
In the U.S., he worked in brand management, serving as Brand Manager in P&G’s Health Care Division.
He was promoted to Marketing Director in 1997 and transferred to Latin America, where he served in the Fabric & Home Care division before being promoted to Country Manager for P&G’s Home Care business in Latin America.
In 2003, he became Country Manager for Central America overseeing all P&G business in that region.
Mininberg serves on the board of directors for SpartanNash Company, a publicly-held food distributor and grocery retailer.
Mininberg earned his bachelor’s degree and a Master of Business Administration from Yale University.
He currently serves on the Board of Advisors for Yale School of Management and serves as Past President of its global Alumni Association Board of Directors.
289 words by Julien Mininberg
In the news release announcing his departure as CEO of Helen of Troy Ltd., Julien Mininberg received accolades, praise and thanks.
In announcing his departure, Julien Mininberg made a lengthy statement and said 289 words.
“More time with my family”
Julien Mininberg stated: “Serving as Helen of Troy’s CEO has been an honor and a privilege. When I retire next February, it will be my turn to slow down a bit, spend more time with my family, and focus on personal priorities after what will be 10 years as Helen of Troy’s CEO and 34 years in the consumer products industry. I am proud of the exceptional work of our passionate, dedicated associates. They have given their all to build our business and brands, while creating strong global shared services and a scalable operating platform. Since the start of our Transformation Plan in 2014, we have united under a common consumer-centric vision, positive culture, and bedrock core values that enabled us to elevate lives and soar together. We are all working toward a strong finish to Phase II of our Transformation in fiscal year 2024, and are driving our global restructuring plan, Project Pegasus, to fuel the next chapters of growth and efficiency. Looking ahead, I believe the Company will be in excellent hands under Noel’s leadership. She will become only the third CEO in the Company’s 55-year history. Helen of Troy is well-positioned to deliver the next era of sustained growth. I expect Noel and the team will perform with excellence for the benefit of all stakeholders. She has proven herself as COO and I believe is the right choice to lead the Company. She brings outstanding experience, fresh eyes, and a winning attitude that have already fueled significant contributions. These include her leadership of Project Pegasus, and the step-up in our brand building and go-to-market capabilities she is leading now. I look forward to working with Noel over the remainder of Fiscal Year 2024 as we complete our transition plan.”
Over the past 12 months, 25% of all outgoing CEOs remained silent in the departure announcement, according to data compiled by exechange. Departing CEOs who did make a statement said an average of 109 words. The longest statement was 510 words. The shortest statement was 23 words. Leadership transitions in which departing CEOs provide conspicuously short, excessively long or no explanations for their move are statistically associated with elevated pressure and show an increased incidence of Push-out Scores above the critical threshold of 5.
40% of CEOs are forced out or fired
When CEO departures are announced, exechange determines the Push-out Score on a scale of 0 to 10 to assess how likely it is that the chief executive was pushed out or felt pressure to leave the position, with 0 being most likely a voluntary move and 10 being most likely a forced exit. Anything over a 5 indicates that there are valid reasons to believe an executive may have been pushed out.
Of the 314 CEO departures in the Russell 3000 Index evaluated over the past 12 months (April 26, 2022, to April 25, 2023), the average Push-out Score was 6.2, according to exechange data. References to conduct issues, disagreements and irregularities lead to the highest Push-out Scores. When performance issues, pursuit of other opportunities or time with family were cited as departure reasons, the average Push-out Scores were also significantly elevated.
Around 40% of the CEO departure events from the past 12 months received Push-out Scores of 8 or higher.
In other words, in the past 12 months, two in five departing CEOs were forced out or fired.
Push-out Score for Julien Mininberg’s move determined
The Push-out Score regarding Julien Mininberg’s move is explained point by point in the exechange report.
exechange reached out to Helen of Troy and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 18.2023 ($).