Hendrik Born grew up in Eastern Germany and qualified as a mechanical engineer before embarking on a highly international career shaped by living and working across diverse markets. Over the years, he has built broad leadership experience, successfully leading multidisciplinary teams across supply chain, commercial operations, and retail channels. In 2003, Hendrik expanded his international footprint by taking on the role of Commercial Director for AlSafi in Saudi Arabia, followed by his appointment as General Manager of Sahar Iran in 2006, a pivotal milestone in his leadership journey. His breadth of experience later saw him lead two of Danone’s major categories: Dairy and Early Life Nutrition across complex and evolving markets. Now based in South Africa, Hendrik serves as General Manager for Dairy Africa, with responsibility for markets including Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and Sub-Saharan Africa. He was appointed General Manager Dairy Africa in January 2026. His expanded role forms part of Danone’s evolving MultiCountry Organisation (MCO) structure within the EMEA region, designed to strengthen collaboration, bring markets closer together, and unlock scale across the continent. In this role, Hendrik focuses on driving greater alignment across African markets, enabling knowledge sharing between teams, and identifying sustainable growth opportunities while staying deeply connected to local consumer needs. Under the unified structure, he places strong emphasis on investing in infrastructure, capabilities, and people to support long term value creation across Africa. Hendrik is widely recognised as a leader shaping Africa’s food system for lasting impact. His work centres on sustainability, local sourcing, inclusive growth, and enriching trusted brands with essential nutrients, while strengthening local ecosystems and community resilience. He leads the Danone Impact Journey across the region and has been a key champion of B Corp certification for Sub-Saharan Africa, reinforcing Danone’s commitment to using business as a force for social and environmental good. Attentive, decisive, energetic, and authentic, Hendrik is known for leading from the front. His peers describe him as inspiring, positively spirited, and tenacious, with a strong cando attitude. Entrepreneurial and future-focused, he thrives in Africa’s culturally rich environments and believes deeply in the power of people, partnership, and purpose to unlock sustainable growth and meaningful impact across the continent.