Raymond Horsting has been appointed manager, new business development and procurement, in ForFarmers' DML organisation.
In this role, he will focus on account management of suppliers of wet co-products and on optimising and expanding the product portfolio. ForFarmers said ESG is a key pillar in its strategy so this role, which has a focus on ensuring optimal use of co-products as feed, is very much in line with that ambition.
Horsting has been with ForFarmers for almost five years, as a sales manager for the ruminants business in the Netherlands.
Prior to ForFarmers, he had several roles at the Van Beek Group, a Dutch family company supplying fresh eggs and egg products.
Edmond Guidault is being promoted to vice president of operations and finance at the New York headquartered animal health company, Natural Biologics.
He had clocked up nearly four years with the US firm prior to this move, working as its operations manager and comptroller.
In his new role, he will oversee all international registrations, renewals, and logistics for the business. He will also manage raw ingredient procurement, coordinating the expanded manufacturing resource base, while also continuing to manage finances.
“Edmond has been an integral part of our operations over the last four years. His expertise and attention to detail has helped us achieve 59% year-over-year growth,” says Dr Charlie Elrod, co-founder and CEO of Natural Biologics. “In his expanded role, he will be helping us identify efficiencies and streamline processes to pass on even more value to our customers.”
Guidault holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from the Agriculture Engineering School in Purpan, Toulouse, France.
Insect ingredients producer, Protix, has appointed Lynn De Proft as its chief financial officer. The company said she will help to further drive its ambitious growth trajectory and its plans for international expansion.
De Proft brings almost 20 years of international experience in executive roles at listed and global companies to the Protix mix. Her career spans diverse markets, industries, and countries, where she has consistently demonstrated her commitment to driving sustainability whilst delivering strong financial results.
Before joining Protix, De Proft was chief procurement officer for Solvay as well as president of Solvay Energy Services. Prior to Solvay, she spent 10 years in executive roles in strategy, operations, M&A, and procurement at Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABInBev), most recently as VP of global procurement and sustainability.
De Proft holds a master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Delft University of Technology, and an MBA from the Vlerick Business School.
“We are delighted to welcome Lynn on board at this exciting time in our company’s success story. Lynn is an accomplished leader in international business. With her strong background and strategic vision, I am certain we will be able to deliver the solid international growth we are now geared up for,” said Protix CEO, Kees Aarts.
“I am very impressed with Protix as the pioneers and frontrunners in building the insect-based ingredients industry. This is an exciting time to work with the Protix teams to accelerate growth based on collaboration, innovation, a customer centric culture and a clear sense of purpose. I very much look forward to assisting in the further international scale-up of Protix, as well as unleashing its full value creation potential,” said De Proft.
Steven Ripley has joined the Sustainable Investment Management (SIM) team as director, investor engagement.
He has spent his entire professional career working towards creating value for forests, according to SIM. He has held positions with the UN, Global Canopy, IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative and Tesco, as well as a decade working for software firms developing commodity traceability systems.
Career highlights include establishing the first fully traceable palm oil mill, (including smallholders), for Wilmar in Borneo, establishing forests as a central component of corporate reporting with CDP, and getting the Responsible Commodities Facility (RCF) up and running with the help of colleagues at Tesco, Sainsburys and Waitrose.
The RCF is a new system of financial incentives for farmers in Brazil who commit to deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) soy cultivation.
“We’re thrilled Steven is joining our team. His passion and commitment to the RCF over the last few years whilst at Tesco has been instrumental in the success of the first Cerrado program, and in establishing the model for retailer investment. The next few years will see the facility grow rapidly and we’re grateful to have Steven onboard to drive it forward,” said Pedro Moura Costa, SIM UK CEO.
“It’s rare to encounter genuinely disruptive business models which can simultaneously create value for forests, make money for investors, be financially self-sustaining and infinitely scalable. RCF has all these characteristics and after 20 years working in forests and commodities, I’m convinced it will be a game changer. I couldn’t be more motivated to make it succeed,” commented Ripley.
Ripley holds a Masters in International Environmental Law and a Bachelors in Environmental Science.
FrieslandCampina CEO, Hein Schumacher, is stepping down from that role on May 1, 2023. He has accepted a new position as CEO of Unilever plc.
A process is already underway to secure a new CEO for the Dutch dairy cooperative.
Sybren Attema, chairman of the supervisory board of FrieslandCampina, said: “Hein successfully guided FrieslandCampina through an important transformative period for the company. In often very challenging circumstances, he led the company fully focused on making a sustainable, future-proof FrieslandCampina. It is with regret that we see him leave, and we wish him all the best in his new position.”
Schumacher joined FrieslandCampina in 2014 and assumed the CEO role in 2018 after three years as CFO. He will continue to be active in his role until April 30, 2023.
Amlan has appointed Chris Dyer as its director of sales for North America.
Heath Wessels, VP of sales, the Americas, for Amlan, said Dyer has a strong track record in customer relationship development and sales excellence. “He will be key to the delivery of our highly researched mineral-based feed additives to producers in North America.”
Dyer has more than 35 years of experience in the poultry industry where he began his career as a hatchery and production manager. He led a team of regional account managers in the US and Canada and was responsible for a multimillion-dollar program of medicated feed additives, biologicals, and bio-device business. From there, he moved into a leadership role at Cobb-Vantress, where he oversaw parent stock breeder sales in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Central America.
Dyer graduated from the University of Georgia with a BS in Agriculture.
