Dutch meat producer Vion Food Group has appointed Ronald Lotgerink as its new CEO, effective 1 September, 2018.
Lotgerink, 57, currently heads up Zwanenberg Food Group, a leading European producer and exporter of meat products, canned meat, snacks, soups and sauces.
He started his career at KPMG and joined Zwanenberg in 1989 as CFO, before being appointed CEO in 2007. He has been on the Vion supervisory board since 2014.
Extensive Experience
“Ronald is well acquainted with the agricultural and food industry and is very much at home in the challenges facing the international meat markets,” said Siplo Schat, chairman of Vion’s supervisory board. “He has extensive experience with branded products, private labels and the meat processing industry.”
Lotgerink succeeds Francis Kint, who took on the role in September 2015 and will leave the company on 1 June of this year.
With the appointment of the new CEO, Vion's board of directors will consist of Ronald Lotgerink and CFO Joost Sliepenbeek. The appointment to CEO means that Ronald Lotgerink will step down as a member of the supervisory board.
“He is also a member of our supervisory board, which gives him a head start in his new position,” Schat continued. “He has close ties with suppliers, customers and producers, and is, in our opinion, the perfect candidate.”
Family Background
“Coming from a butcher’s family, I’m proud to get the chance to serve as CEO for Vion,” Lotgerink commented on his appointment. “Vion has the right strategy to build a sustainable future within this industry and I want to continue and strengthen it."
Vion acquired sausage specialist Otto Nocker last August, in addition to six specialist meat retailers in Bavaria, Germany.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.