Westfalia Fruit Group (Westfalia) and the board of Hans Merensky Holdings (HMH) have appointed Chris Bush as group chief executive officer, effective 28 October 2024.
In the new role, Bush will take over from acting group CEO Rian du Toit, who will resume his role as group finance chief.
Chair of HMH and Westfalia Fruit Group, Dr Khotso Mokhele stated, “After an extensive global search process, the board is delighted to welcome Mr Bush as our new group chief executive.
“Chris is a seasoned CEO with exceptional strategic capabilities, proven operational effectiveness, and strong experience in retail, as well as working across a breadth of different countries and cultures.”
Chris Bush
Bush brings a wealth of experience, having served as an international CEO with almost 40 years of experience in grocery retail.
He has led multinational organisations, with responsibility of driving both growth and turnaround across various geographies.
Most recently, he served as divisional CEO of DFI Retail Group, South East Asia. It was formerly known as Dairy Farm Group.
Before joining DFI Retail Group, he was with Tesco Plc for 32 years.
In this period, he led large-scale businesses in Asia and worked his way up to the position of UK managing director.
He has lived and worked in Europe, the USA and Asia.
Commenting on his new role, Bush stated, “I am both honoured and delighted to be joining an organisation that is so clearly dedicated to innovation, product quality and sustainability.
“I am inspired by the company’s stated mission to lead the way in addressing climate change by following in the footsteps of the company’s founder, Dr Hans Merensky, to do good and contribute to a better planet for future generations.”
