Isabelle Esser

Isabelle Esser has 30 years of experience in consumer goods & B2B international companies in local, regional and global roles.

She started her career at Danone in April 2022 as Chief R&I, Quality and Food Safety Officer. As of October 1, 2024, she assumed the dual role of Chief HR Officer.

Prior to Danone, she was the Chief Human Resources Officer of Barry Callebaut, after a career of over 25 years in Research and Development at Unilever, where she last held the position of Executive Vice President R&D Foods Transformation in the Global Foods & Refreshment Division.

Isabelle Esser started her career as a scientist at Unilever Research & Development Port Sunlight Laboratory, UK, after which she served in various positions within Research & Development across the globe within the Foods as well as the Home & Personal Care business divisions.

Throughout her career, Isabelle promoted and drove transformational changes through people, built capabilities enabling sustainable innovation from insights generated through consumer data and digital. She is passionate about sustainable nutrition, product innovation & solution and quality in brands. Engaged in the Diversity & Inclusion agenda for more than 20 years, she drove D&I in all her roles as a source of innovation.

Isabelle holds a degree as ‘Ingénieur Civil en Sciences des Matériaux, Orientation Physique’ from Louvain-LaNeuve University in Belgium and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Birmingham in the UK.