Henkel names Carsten Knobel new CFO

FRANKFURT - Henkel named 42-year-old Carsten Knobel as its new finance director on Tuesday, continuing a trend among German consumer goods companies to rejuvenate their management teams with younger blood.

Henkel, whose brands include Persil in Germany, Schwarzkopf hair products and Pritt stick glue, said Knobel would take over as finance director from 63-year-old Lothar Steinebach on July 1, 2012.

Rival Beiersdorf last month shook up its management team by hiring 48-year-old outsider Stefan Heidenreich as chief executive to execute a turnaround.

Analysts hope he will rejuvenate the maker of Nivea creams in the same way that Kasper Rorsted did for Henkel after he was named CEO in 2008.

Knobel started at Henkel in 1995 in the research and development department and has been financial director of the group's cosmetics/toiletries unit since 2009.

Shares in Henkel were down 0.8 percent at 43.89 euros at 0923 GMT.

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan)