Business2 min
Loïc Moutault Takes the Helm at Groupe SEB, the Maker of Tefal Cookware
The former Mars Petcare chief now leads the French appliance giant behind Tefal, Krups and more than 40 other brands.
Loïc Moutault has become Chief Executive Officer of Groupe SEB, the publicly listed French company behind Tefal and a portfolio of more than 40 other brands. He took over on 1 October 2026 from Stanislas de Gramont. The company keeps its split leadership structure, so Thierry de La Tour d'Artaise remains Chairman of the Board.
If your kitchen has a non-stick pan, there's a good chance it traces back to this group. Tefal, founded in 1956 and acquired by SEB in 1968, created the non-stick cookware category. Today it sits alongside Supor as one of the group's two biggest brands, each bringing in close to €2 billion a year.
Groupe SEB is a heavyweight in small kitchen and home appliances. In 2025 it posted revenue of roughly €8.2 billion. It employs more than 30,000 people, runs 47 factories, and sells over 400 million products a year in more than 150 countries. Its brand lineup includes Rowenta, Moulinex, Krups, WMF, Lagostina, All-Clad and Emsa. Most sales come from consumer products, while professional equipment, especially commercial coffee machines, forms a major second business. The group also operates about 1,300 of its own stores.
Moutault, about 55, is a long-time insider of the consumer goods world, though not of this company. He spent more than three decades at Mars, starting in 1995 as a finance trainee. Early postings took him through France, Poland and the Czech Republic, and by 2000 he was finance director for the Czech and Slovak subsidiaries.
His rise at Mars was built on general management and brand work. He ran Mars in Switzerland, then Mars Petcare Germany, and later oversaw Royal Canin's Asia-Pacific region from Singapore. In 2014 he became Global President of Royal Canin. Over the next eight years he helped roughly double the brand's turnover, pushed harder into digital and direct-to-consumer sales, and leaned into nutrition as a health story for pets. In 2022 he moved up to lead Mars Petcare, a division with around 100,000 associates across more than 130 countries.
Why it matters: Groupe SEB faces the same pressures as many household-goods makers, including shifting shopper habits, online-first brands and rising costs. A leader who has spent years on digital growth and premium positioning signals where the group may focus next. For shoppers, the practical question is whether that means new products, sharper pricing or a bigger push into direct sales.
Read the original company profile at BBN Times.
