Philips’ first female top executive Charlotte Hanneman in 133-year history starts tenure

Royal Philips NV’s first female chief financial officer and management board member in the company’s history starts her tenure on Tuesday.

Charlotte Hanneman, 45, is taking over as the CFO of the Dutch maker of medical equipment, succeeding Abhijit Bhattacharya who has been in the role since 2015. Hanneman is joining from US medical equipment maker Stryker Corp. 

Philips is trying regain shareholder and consumer trust after paying less than expected to settle claims linked to faulty sleep apnea devices. Earlier this year, its two biggest investors Exor NV and Artisan Partners GP LLC raised their stakes in the company, demonstrating improved confidence in the company.

Chief Executive Officer Roy Jakobs, who was overseeing the issues around the recall, took the reigns in October 2022 and started his tenure by cutting 10,000 jobs. Jakobs also replaced more than half of the executive committee members since he took over as part of his strategy to build “on the right team and capabilities.”

“Charlotte is the right leader for this role with over 20 years of experience in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industries, and experience across Asia, the Americas and Europe,” Jakobs said in an emailed statement.

The company began recalling some sleep apnea products due to health concerns linked to the disintegrating noise-dampening foam in June 2021, with the US Food and Drug Administration labeling the fault a Class 1 issue, the most serious type. It suspended sales of those devices in the US and the recall cost the company around $5 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations. 

Philips shares have gained more than 44% this year but the stock is still down around 32% since the start of the recall.