A woman on a mission: Bridgette Heller joins Danone Executive Committee

Some career decisions are no-brainers, and Bridgette Heller’s move to Danone was one of them. Her enthusiasm is clear as she talks about the company — how she “fell in love” with Danone’s commitment to business success and social progress, and how impressed she is with the “passionate dedication” of Danoners. Bridgette left her first conversation with Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber with one thing in mind: joining his team and taking the helm of Danone’s Early Life Nutrition division. “When Emmanuel finally asked me to become the division’s Executive VP, I nearly shouted with joy: I felt that the position was made for me,” she recalls.

A different kind of consumer

Bridgette brings 31 years of solid consumer products experience to Danone. She began her career at Kraft Foods, where she spent 18 years in a variety of positions, and most recently she served as EVP & President of Consumer Care at Merck. But in between she worked five years at the helm of Johnson & Johnson’s global Baby Care division, where she discovered a group of new consumers with very specific expectations — young parents. A new mother, she found, is a different kind of consumer.

“Becoming a mother is a revolution. It is one of the first times in your life when your priorities are completely turned upside down. And for many moms it’s a very stressful time as well, it’s the first time in your life that you are totally responsible for another human being. As a brand, it’s our privilege to be a part of this change and offer solutions. I think it’s the best category of them all!” she says enthusiastically.

A ‘servant-leader’

Bridgette, who describes herself as a “servant-leader who is serving consumers”, faces the challenge of meeting the Danone 2020 Company Goals with confidence. It will be her job to consolidate the division’s €5 billion in sales and keep growth at 10%, high among the highest rates in the company — and fulfill Danone’s mission of bringing health through food to as many people as possible.

Active in the community

It’s no accident that Bridgette identifies with the values in the Danone Manifesto. An active member of her community, she recently launched a foundation in St. Petersburg, Florida, in the disadvantaged neighborhood where she grew up. It is dedicated to fighting illiteracy and keeping kids in school — causes that her mother, a teacher, spent 40 years of her life supporting. “From a personal standpoint, I also owe a lot to my great-grandmother Louise. From a very early place in life, she ensured my confidence. At a time when the American South was still ravaged by segregation, she always made it clear that I was never ‘less than’ nor ‘better than’ anyone else. She taught me to always hold my head high and never sell myself short. That foundational golden rule of ‘treat everyone the way you wanna be treated’ was instilled by her and it was the core of my humanism.”

Bridgette has succeeded beyond her great-grandmother’s wildest dreams. Named 2013 Woman of the Year by the Healthcare Business Women’s Association and now a member of the Executive Committee of one of the world’s leading food companies, she serves as a role model in what is still very much a man’s world.