Procter & Gamble’s head of home care Gary Coombe is the company’s new European chief, it has confirmed.

Coombe, who will report directly to P&G CEO AG Lafley, is currently vice president, home care, for EMEA, and global brand ­franchise leader for air care at the fmcg giant.

He will succeed Mary Lynn Ferguson-McHugh as president, Europe, selling and market operations on 1 November. Ferguson-McHugh is to become P&G’s group president for global family care.

Coombe has worked at P&G for 28 years. He began his career in UK sales, before moving into marketing, where he held positions including brand manager for Fairy Non-Bio, UK associate marketing director for Pampers, and European marketing director for laundry. In 2003, he became UK general manager for health and beauty, then UK general manager for customer business development (sales).

Coombe’s most notable contribution to the business came in 2005-06, when he oversaw the integration of Gillette into P&G’s European business, and the launch of Gillette Fusion in the UK and Ireland. The $57bn acquisition was announced in January 2005 and created the world’s largest consumer goods company by sales.

From 2007, Coombe held VP roles at P&G covering the home care and air care categories, both at a European level and globally - including one assignment at the company’s global HQ in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Coombe said: “Coming from a sales and marketing background, I want P&G brands to win, time and time again, at the ‘first moment of truth’ - the moment when the consumer looks for a product on shelf. I will be investing my energy in understanding how P&G can deliver the best value for our partners, shoppers and consumers.”

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