Peter Harf is Chief Executive Officer of Joh. A. Benckiser SE, Vienna, Austria a privately held financial holding company. Benckiser owns 100 percent of Coty Inc, New York and 15 percent of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, London, England.
He has been with Benckiser since 1981 serving the company in a variety of capacities, including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 1988. He has played a major role in orchestrating Benckiser’s evolution into a major worldwide consumer products company through internal growth, acquisitions and divestitures.
Peter is also Chairman of Coty Inc., a worldwide fragrance and cosmetics company with sales of 3.3 billion US$ in fiscal 2007.
In addition, he is Deputy Chairman of the Board of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, which is a leading household and personal care products company with sales of GBP 4.9 billion in 2006.
Peter is Chairman of the Board of InBev, the world's largest brewing company, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.
Peter is Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the non-profit DKMS German Bone Marrow Donor Center in Tübingen, Germany, the largest institution of its kind in the world.
Previously, Peter was Senior Vice President of Corporate Planning at AEG - Telefunken, Frankfurt, Germany. He began his career at the Boston Consulting Group.
Peter received his MBA degree in 1974 from the Harvard Business School. He holds both a diploma and a Doctorate in economics from the University of Cologne.
"Not a lot of people know that leukemia is the most common disease children die of in the U.S. Most children and young adults can be given a second chance if a match is found. However, only 2 out of 10 patients end up getting the life-saving treatment. I think it's amazing that Pat, who is organizing donor drives with DKMS is being an advocate for bone marrow registration at such a young age, he is such an inspiration. " - Leona Lewis
More than 1.7 million others are fighting for the cause.