Mark Schneider, CEO, has decided to relinquish his roles as CEO and member of the board of directors. Over his eight years with the company, he has actively shaped the company’s portfolio, in line with Nestlé’s strategy and with a focus on high-growth categories like coffee, pet care and nutritional health products, according to the company.

Freixe joined Nestlé in France in 1986. Since then, he has continuously progressed within the company, assuming various positions of increasing responsibility across different businesses, markets and sones. He successfully managed Zone Europe during the financial and economic crisis, from 2008 until 2014. He then took over as CEO of Zone Americas, where he accelerated growth. Following the creation of Nestlé’s new Zone structure in 2022, Laurent Freixe was named CEO Zone Latin America, where he has been successfully leading through challenging conditions.

Freixe has been a member of the executive board for 16 years and, as such, has played an important role in strengthening the strategic direction of the company and its portfolio. With his profound understanding of Nestlé’s culture and values, he has led several global corporate initiatives to improve productivity, increase operational efficiency, simplify processes and drive innovation. Additionally, Freixe has been active  in the Nestlé leadership and training programmes as well as the Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative, which promotes youth employment.

Paul Bulcke, chairman of the doard of directors, says, “I have known Laurent for a long time and highly regard him as a talented leader with strategic acumen, extensive in-market experience and expertise as well as a deep understanding of markets and consumers. He has demonstrated his ability to deliver results in challenging market conditions. Laurent’s curiosity fuels his passion for innovation and positive change. Laurent is the perfect fit for Nestlé at this time. Under his leadership, Nestlé will further strengthen its position as a dependable, reliable company through consistent and sustainable value creation.”

Bulcke continues, “I would also like to express our gratitude to Mark for his significant contributions to Nestlé and for his outstanding, steady leadership in turbulent times. Mark has been instrumental in the great progress we have made on our sustainability agenda. We extend our best wishes to him in all his professional and personal endeavours.”

Freixe says, “I am privileged to have been given the opportunity to continue building and strengthening Nestlé, and I am excited to take on this responsibility. There will always be challenges, but we have unparalleled strengths, such as iconic brands and products, an unmatched global presence, leading innovation and execution capabilities, and above all, exceptional people and teams. We can strategically position Nestlé to lead and win everywhere we operate.”

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Most recently, Margherio was business development manager, Liquid Food & Beverage for packaging provider, Fres-Co System USA, a position he held since 2016. Prior to that, he held business development management roles with snack and confectionery manufacturer, The Warrell Corporation, as well as with Farmland Dairies of Wallington, NJ. At Farmland, Margherio enjoyed a decade-long tenure particularly relevant to his new role with IMA Dairy & Food.

Margherio comes to IMA Dairy & Food at a time when the packaging solutions company has recently introduced Zero Technology, a means of producing single-serve, sustainability-minded PET cups for dairy and other food items. In Q4 of 2022, the company also took over sales activities for extrusion blow mold machinery suppler AlphaMAC, an Italy-based equipment provider (and IMA Group member) specialising in solutions for the packaging of liquid products.

“Daniel’s track record of overseeing successful, often double-digit sales growth will help IMA continue to grow our North American market share in the dairy and greater food packaging landscape,” said Patrick Carroll, president of IMA Dairy & Food USA. “His highly relevant background, impressive skill set and engaging personality make him exceptionally well-suited for his new role, and we’re delighted to welcome him.”

Margherio earned a degree in Business Administration from the State University of New York (SUNY) Binghamton. He resides in Plymouth Meeting, PA.

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She joined FrieslandCampina in the Netherlands in 2012 as an account manager and e-commerce specialist. There she has worked in various management positions in recent years, including in sales, most recently as director of sales and trade marketing since June 2020.

FrieslandCampina Germany in Düsseldorf will in future concentrate on the marketing and distribution of its international brands Valess and Chocomel, its cheese brands (including Frico and Holland Master) and the private labels produced by FrieslandCampina abroad (such as cheese and spray cream). Large parts of the professional business with the core brand Debic remain unchanged.

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Vlaar joins from Centrient Pharmaceuticals, a Netherlands-based global business-to-business leader in sustainable generic pharmaceuticals. There he was most recently responsible as chief commercial officer and a member of the executive leadership team. He holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering, is considered an experienced manager and brings many years of expertise in general management, strategy, commercial excellence and innovation management.

Ingo Müller, CEO of DMK Group says, ” With his extensive know-how, he will be able to give the Industry Business Unit significant impetus on its way forward. I have come to know Frans Vlaar as a positive personality and team player with the ability to convince in global teams. I wish him every success in his new role at DMK Group and look forward to a trusting and successful collaboration.” In this context, Müller expressed his thanks to Martin Humfeldt (director operations BU Industry) and Sierk Weisser Krepetin (director sales BU Industry). Both will report to Vlaar in future and have managed the BU on an interim basis. Müller adds, “They were immediately willing to walk this personal “extra mile” for the company and their industry teams.”

“B2B is an extremely exciting business field for me because you can develop the right solution for customers together with them. Working in this area also means actively shaping tomorrow’s market and thinking about new trends and developments at an early stage. The BU Industry plays an important role in the DMK Group’s mission statement 2030. The tasks that await me there allow me to apply my many years of experience in an exciting working environment and forward-looking company,” explains Vlaar.

The post DMK Group appoints new COO for Industry business appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

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For the past two years, Lillie Li Valeur has served as CEO of the Denmark-based Good Food Group (manufacturing of various foods, like jam, honey and nuts).

Prior to that, she worked at Arla Foods for 18 years, most recently as vice president of Arla’s dairy-based beverages business. There she led a team, which was able to continuously achieve double-digit growth rates in the European and international markets.

She has also managed Arla’s China business. During this time, she developed and implemented the strategic cooperation plan with the Chinese dairy company Mengnui Dairy Company.

She then took on the position of vice president for Arla’s Southeast Asia business and in this role was instrumental in establishing Arla Foods’ joint venture in Bangladesh and the regional office in Kuala Lumpur.

The post Lillie Li Valeur heads up Arla Foods Germany appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

She has been chief financial officer (CFO) of the Emmi Group since June 2019 and is a member of the executive board.

Before moving Emmi, she was CFO of Orior and has held various management and consulting positions at investment and strategy consulting companies.

Emmi will now initiate the process of filling out the CFO position and handing over responsibilities by the end of the year.

The post Demarmels to become new Emmi CEO appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

“In the last seven years since Kim Gade Pedersen took over the management and distribution of the Danish heritage ice cream manufacturer Premier Is, I, like the other 350 employees in Denmark, have on a daily basis experienced his purposeful pursuit of operational excellence that is second to none. It is under his leadership that one of the most challenging restructuring and efficiency projects has been implemented, creating a company that is fit for competing in the highly competitive FMCG industry. On behalf of the family of Food Union companies, I thank Kim for his great contribution to the creation of a leading Danish ice cream maker,” says Arturs Čirjevskis, CEO of Food Union Group in Europe.

“The management of the company is now handed to Claus Dahlmann Larsen, a proven commercial and marketing professional both locally and internationally. He is entrusted with an ambitious task to drive the growth of Premier Is through excellence in sales and marketing, implementation of revenue-increasing initiatives, launch of new and innovative product categories in Denmark, as well as through building the foundation for Danish brands to perform on international level. I wish Claus the best of luck, he has all the means – a great team, strong brands and an effective operation – for it,” adds Arturs Čirjevskis.

In the nearly three years since Claus became Premier Is’ chief commercial officer in 2019, he has been responsible for the full commercial value chain covering Sales across all channels, Marketing, Trade Marketing, Product Development, Customer Service and Distribution, comprising an organisation of around 240 people. Among his most visible achievements is consolidation of the Premier Is product portfolio under a single brand, development of sophisticated marketing and sales strategies for the Premier Is and Hjem Is brands, and foundation of many innovative and competitive product initiatives such as low-cal ice cream Underground, a line of ice cream accessories available at Hjem Is and now the introduction of dairy snacks in the Danish market.

“I’m honoured to take over the full responsibility for this great company, an engaged and committed team and brands with a great story rooted in the history of Danish dairy. In February 2020, we launched our 2023 strategy under the headline “The New Premier Is,” and since then we have been focusing on delivering on our must win battles. This has been driving a lot of change internally, a lot of new innovations to the category and a closer collaboration with our customers, leaving us with a solid platform for future growth. We have gone a long way in the transformation of the company, and I want to thank Kim for his support and for great partnership in delivering historical strong results in 2020 and 2021. I look forward to continuing working with him in his new role at the Supervisory Board,” says Claus Dahlmann Larsen.

“My main ambition since becoming CEO of Premier Is always was “to leave the company in a position stronger than ever before”. I´m very happy that this ambition was achieved. A very committed team in Premier Is, including Hjem-Is, made this achievement possible. I am happy to leave the CEO responsibility to Claus Dahlmann Larsen, who has been the driving force behind developing a very strong commercial platform for future growth and worked very hard for almost three years to successfully transform the commercial value chain. Being part of the Food Union family and working closely with colleagues from different countries and cultures has been very rewarding and a joy. I´m very happy and honoured to continue being part of the Food Union Family as a member of the company´s supervisory board,” adds Kim Gade Pedersen.

Claus Dahlmann Larsen has over 25 years of experience in leading organisations in FMCG industries in the Nordics, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Middle East and North Africa. While working with brands like Carlsberg, Kellogg and Coca Cola, he has gained verifiable tracking record of leading transformational projects and delivering cost efficient growth by combining an incisive ability to strategise and execute innovative, flexible and robust commercial strategies based on consumer, shopper and customer insights.

The post Claus Dahlmann Larsen becomes CEO of Premier Is appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

She previously worked in various national and international positions in marketing and sales in the consumer goods industry for over 16 years. Most recently, as marketing director, she managed the laundry and home care business at Henkel in Germany and Switzerland.

The post Knorr joins FrieslandCampina Germany appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

In the UK, Ornua Foods’ business is the largest supplier of pre-packed British and Irish hard cheese to a range of major retailers with sales of over £400 million. The brand attributes its success to its attention to product quality and continuous investment in marketing and shopper activities.

Prior to her appointment as Ornua Foods UK’s brands director, Alexander has held a number of senior marketing roles with leading FMCG and consumer healthcare brands in Africa and Europe. These include being: marketing director for Kellogg Africa (leading the marketing of its branded portfolio of Kellogg’s cereals, instant noodles and snacking brands such as Pringles); marketing director for GSK Consumer Health West Africa (including oral health brands such as Sensodyne, Macleans & Aquafresh and in the drinks category Lucozade and Ribena); and brand operations lead for Procter & Gamble in South & East Africa.

Commenting on her appointment, Kerry Alexander said, “I’m looking forward to working with the cross functional teams at Ornua as we build on the love and loyalty that consumers have for our Pilgrims Choice and Kerrygold brands and accelerate our share growth. We have some exciting developments in the pipeline over the next 12 months including new standout pack designs and formats, range extensions and creative multi-channel advertising campaigns designed to reinforce and bring to life the core benefits of both brands.”

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Tim joins the Admix leadership team with more than 30 years of experience leading manufacturing operations environments. His strengths in implementing manufacturing technologies and improving workflow processes will be instrumental as Admix continues to grow its product lines and implement lean principles.

Tim has held numerous executive and operational leadership roles, most recently as VP of Jewell Instruments, LLC, where he oversaw sales & marketing, engineering, operations, supply chain management and the company’s ISO 9001 initiatives.

“I am passionate about manufacturing and creating opportunities for companies and individuals,” said Tim. “I look forward to leveraging my operations strategy experience to support the future growth of Admix and being a part of an employee-owned culture centered on teamwork and customer focus.”

CEO Mike Rizzo comments, “Tim will be a great addition to Admix, and I’m excited about the opportunities before us. His leadership approach and background make him uniquely qualified to streamline our operations, especially in this growth phase of our business.”

Tim holds an MBA in Operations Management from University of New Hampshire, a BS from Dartmouth College, and is Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM). Tim has served on several boards throughout his career and is currently on the Board of Advisors for the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center (NHSBDC) and on the Board of Directors for the New Hampshire Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NHMEP).

The post Tim Dining joins Admix as COO appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

Likewise, he was elected by the annual general meeting of AMA-Marketing to the supervisory board, whose presidency he takes over.

The board of directors of the AMA is responsible for the appointment of the management board, supervision of the management, decisions on the financial plan as well as the annual financial statements.

Quehenberger has a dairy farm in Annaberg, Austria together with his wife, three daughters, his son and parents.

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Arturs Cirjevskis has more than ten years of experience in general management and operational finance in producing FMCG companies in Latvia. He has been with the Food Union Group since 2015 when Food Union acquired its third asset in Latvia, Rīgas Piensaimnieks Ltd, the owner of Latvian legacy mega brands Kārums (curd snacks and other product categories), Dzintars (processed cheese) and Mājas (convenience food). Arturs Cirjevskis was then the CEO and member of the board at Rīgas Piensaimnieks, Ltd. After the merger process, Cirjevskis became the CFO of Food Union Group in Europe, and until now has been responsible for financial controlling, planning and treasury.

Food Union’s commercial strategy and business development in Denmark, Norway and Romania will be guided and supported by Aivar Aus, CEO of Premia TKH, Estonian flagship ice cream producer. Aivars’ almost 30 years of professional experience in the production and trade of ice cream brands, as well as the Premia’s constant growth over the past few years serve as a foundation for him to implement the next stage of the Group’s evolution together with seasoned team from Food Union Latvia branch.

The post Food Union appoints new CEO appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

Sebastian Dates has over 20 years of experience in communications, advocacy and public affairs management for the agricultural sector in Argentina and Latin America. He has worked and contributed with some of the most prominent farming and dairy organizations of South America, like the Argentine Rural Society, FEPALE (Panamerican Dairy Federation), Rosario Board of Trade and Grupo Los Grobo, among others.

As communications manager, Sebastian Dates will play a key role to ensure an efficient flow of information between IDF and its members as well as to promote the science and technology that underpins the dairy sector and its activities. He will work closely with IDF’s director general, Caroline Emond, and the rest of the organisation in the development and execution of strategies and tools to generate engagement from associates, media and other stakeholders around the world. Mr.Dates will also focus on digital communications, web services and social media.

“We want to take IDF’s communications and public relations activities to the next level, and after a careful selection process we believe that based on his experience in the advocacy of the farming and dairy sectors of Latin America, Sebastian Dates can very much contribute to this goal”, states Caroline Emond, director general of IDF.

“I am very proud to contribute to the communication of a global organization that represents a sector that works 24/7 to nourish the world with safe and nutritious products in sustainable ways. My aim is to help all actors of the dairy chain such as farmers, producers and dairy workers to communicate and show their efforts and its results,” explains Sebastian Dates.

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Working alongside two other strategic product managers, Bernadette will be responsible for driving continued profitable growth of the snacking portfolio in the region, including customer facing support, new business development, management of the innovation pipeline and the forward-looking strategy.

With over 20 years of experience in the industry, Bernadette has worked for food and snacking brands in local, European and global emerging markets. She says her experience identifying trends, using consumer insights and bringing new products to market gives her a unique perspective on how to effectively collaborate with Glanbia Nutritionals’ customers.

Previously, Bernadette led the innovation strategy for the health portfolio of cereal products at Kellogg’s, creating a five-year pipeline of food innovations for a range of global brands such as Special K, and was responsible for the launch of new to market brands such as W.K. Kellogg. Bernadette also led the launch of W.K Kellogg By Kids as the first no added sugar, Nutri-Score A cereal for children.

Speaking of her new appointment at Glanbia Nutritionals, Bernadette said, “I am really passionate about health and nutrition, and the role that food and lifestyle can play in that. I really wanted to join an organisation that provides high quality innovative nutrition solutions which help keep consumers healthy and strong in their life journey, which is why this role at Glanbia Nutritionals is a perfect fit.”

Bernadette studied at University College Cork (UCC), where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Science and Food Business. She went on to achieve a Graduate Diploma in Management Practice from University College Cork, a Graduateship in Marketing from The Marketing Institute, as well as a diploma in Digital Marketing.

Bernadette continues her relationship with the university and was recently part of the judging panel at UCC’s Business Idea Challenge for undergraduates. She also lectured at its Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation Summer School for secondary school pupils, inspiring the next generation of nutrition professionals.

Outside of work, Bernadette is a non-executive director of the charity Aware, a national charity in Ireland providing free support, education and information services for those impacted by anxiety and depression.

Brad Meyers, senior director for product strategic management at Glanbia Nutritionals commented, “Bernadette brings with her a wealth of experience, alongside a proven track record of successfully bringing products to market. We know that our customers will value her unique understanding of the ideation and project management process.”

The post Glanbia Nutritionals appoints Bernadette Grant as new healthy snacking lead appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

He joins Müller from Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) with more than 17 years of regional and local country marketing and strategic experience.

Prior to that he enjoyed a successful career at Kraft Foods and Mondelez where he worked on a stable of brands across the coffee, confectionery, biscuits and cheese categories.

Justin Cook, chief executive of Müller Yogurt & Desserts said, “Toby joins Müller at an exciting time as we look to create millions more Müller moments for our consumers.

“We intend to set the pace in the categories we serve, innovate to expand our reach and accelerate the development of our business, and I look forward to having him onboard.”

Michael Inpong, who held the post for 9 years, left the business at the end of 2021.

Justin commented, “We are grateful to Michael for his hard work, energy and commitment and we wish him all the best for the next chapter of his career.”

The post Müller Yogurt & Desserts appoints Bevans as strategy and marketing director appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

The graduate economist also successfully completed the chartered financial analyst certification and has studied at the University of Hamburg in Germany, and at the University of Aarhus in Denmark.

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Tom will be taking over the torch from Robert Taks, who temporarily filled this role after his assignment as Plant Manager of one of the production sites.

Starting out as a national executive with KLJ-Groene Kring vzw, Tom went on to build a career of over 23 years in various socially oriented organizations, including his current assignment as director of Members, Partners & Events at CD&V, where he’s been active since 2013.

With his expertise Tom has the perfect profile to act as bridge-builder between business and cooperative, says Milcobel. Additionally, the company believes his experience will prove of great value in stimulating member relations and cooperation. With his matter-of-fact, no-nonsense approach and willingness to listen, he manages to build solid grassroots ties. He is reportedly a great advocate for the cause with strong connections to civil society. Moreover, Milcobel says Tom is a team player who possesses the required skills to work with all actors and on all facets of the organisation to plan and implement a robust policy.

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