Fedima appoints Lesaffre, Zeelandia and CMS Ingredients veterans as new executive
The leadership is responsible for coordinating the activities and budget of the association, with a renewable mandate after three years. Representing 13 member associations across Europe, Fedima works to support and grow the baked goods sector by sharing its positions and priorities at EU level, contributing to policy discussions of relevance for the sector.
The association has been the voice of the industry since 1969, today representing an estimated of 26,133 direct employees across Europe, which collectively, chalk up around €6.7bn in annual turnover.
New leaders
Thomas Lesaffre, baking marketing director of Lesaffre, takes over the reins from Johan Sanders as the association’s president.
Lesaffre brings to the hot seat his years of experience as the chair of the association’s Marketing and Communications Committee. He has also been a long-time Board member.
“Fedima must defend our industry by working with institutions and stakeholders along the value chain, all whilst supporting and informing customers and consumers, and guaranteeing the safety and sustainability of products,” said Lesaffre.
“Our members are a crucial part of this; when working alone we might go faster, but by working together we can go further.”
Sanders vacates the lead seat after six years in the role.
Juan Carlos Puente, CEO of Sefco Zeelandia, has been appointed Fedima’s vice president. He takes over the appointment from Enric Valls, who has been in the chair for 12 years.
“Having worked in this sector across several European countries, I can attest that a federation such as Fedima – which represents the interests of [several] national association members – is crucial to develop common approaches that can allow us to achieve common goals,” said Puente.
“Indeed, by presenting our unified views to stakeholders, we can help shape the regulatory and legislative landscape to enable business to thrive and remain resilient in the future”.
Carl Horrobin, head of Finance for CMS Ingredients, is the newly appointment treasurer, taking over from Wolfgang Mayer. Horrobin is also president of the UK’s Association of Bakery Ingredient Manufacturers (ABIM).
“I’m looking forward to contributing to the functioning and future of Fedima in my new role,” said Horrobin.
“A treasurer must have a wide understanding of an organisation’s priorities and therefore must be connected to all the moving parts and activities.
“In my advisory capacity to the Board, I will help guide resource allocation in Fedima’s work so that we can collectively achieve our mission. I am very much looking forward to working alongside the Board to achieve this.”
At the General Assembly in Sevilla, the Board extended its appreciation to the previous leadership for their guidance.
It also agreed on Istanbul, Turkey, as the next host city for the next General Assembly. Fedima welcomed GIDABIL, the Association of Food Ingredients & Improvers Manufacturers in Turkey, as a new member in 2019.
