NETHERLANDS – The supervisory board of Royal FrieslandCampina has appointed Jaska de Bakker the new Chief Financial Officer of the Dutch dairy co-operative, as the company continues its restructuring processes to meet new market needs.
Bakker will succeed Hein Schumacher, who was recently appointed Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Both will begin their roles on January 1, 2018.
According to the company, Bakker has worked at FrieslandCampina since January 2017 as Director Finance of the business group Consumer Products Asia in Singapore.
Previously, she was the CFO of Royal HaskoningDHV and fulfilled various business development and financial positions at LEAF/CSM.
She was also a strategy consultant at The Boston Consulting Group.
Bakker’s appointment comes as the company is in the process of simplifying its management structure “to respond quicker to changes in consumer demand, customer needs and social developments,” according to the CEO, Roelof Joosten.
The company will seek to deliver on its route2020 strategy “by granting the business groups more independence and accelerating the decision-making process.
With the simplification of the organisation and targeted innovations we invest in further strengthening our brands in the areas of speciality food, milk and other dairy-based beverages, yoghurt, quark, cheese and ingredients.”
It has reduced the number of its Executive Board to two, with the Executive Board of the company consisting of the incoming CEO Hein Schumacher and the CFO, Jaska de Bakker.
An Executive Leadership Team will also be set up comprising the Executive Board, the Presidents of the four business groups (Consumer Dairy, Specialised Nutrition, Ingredients and Basic Dairy), FrieslandCampina China and a number of corporate functions.
Hein Schumacher, appointed by the Board in September, will become CEO on 1 January 2018.
He will succeed Roelof Joosten, who will resign as Chief Executive Officer.
