Divine Chocolate has announced that Sophi Tranchell, its first managing director and CEO, left the company in May 2020.
Tranchell made a decision to leave in November and has concentrated on ensuring the company is well-positioned for the future. Following a share acquisition, the majority shareholder is Ludwig Weinrich GmbH & Co. KG, which has produced Divine’s chocolate since 1998.
Kuapa Kokoo, the farmers’ co-operative in Ghana and a founding shareholder of Divine, has reduced their shareholding from 40% to 20% of the business
Throughout her management of Divine, Tranchell has been a champion of Fairtrade, of business as a force for good and of women achieving equality, especially farmers in the chocolate supply chain. She made a chocolate company that turned “business-as-usual” on its head by making farmers the shareholders.
I am immensely proud of Divine, what it stands for and what it has achieved
Sophi Tranchell
Tranchell was appointed managing director in 1999. She was a founding member of the U.K. Fairtrade leaders, working from 2000 to 2020. Sophi Tranchell was also a founding member of Trading Visions and has served as chair of Fairtrade London since 2003.
Sophi Tranchell stated that she’s very proud of Divine Chocolate and what the company has achieved with a great team and supportive investors. She also added that working closely with farmers had been an absolute privilege.
For her, it has been especially rewarding to see the positive impact achieved for women as they can step up and take their rightful place in the chocolate story.
In 2015, Divine Chocolate U.K. merged with the U.S. business to form Divine Chocolate Group, with Tranchell becoming CEO of the group. The following year, Tranchell was named Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2017, Tranchell was a finalist for Veuve Cliquot Business Woman of the Year.
